


Just Like Fire

by Maethoriel_Artemis



Series: Flight of the Firebird AU [1]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Doctor Who (2005), Supernatural
Genre: BAMF Original Female Character(s), BAMF Original Time Lady Character(s), Crossover, F/M, Rose Tyler Bashing, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:14:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 62,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26918689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maethoriel_Artemis/pseuds/Maethoriel_Artemis
Summary: Having just escaped the War, the Phoenix is having a hard time coping. Who could blame her when she'd quite literally been through hell and back?Luckily she has help in the form of an alien cat, her best friend and a past lover.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Flight of the Firebird AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964083
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

The newly regenerated Time Lady screamed as she fell uncontrollably through the sky. She tried to change into a phoenix but that seemed to not be happening. “This is not my day!” she cried as she then attempted to use her powers to slow her descent. Unfortunately she couldn’t activate them in time and she landed heavily on the ground in front of a very startled Vers. The blonde watched her stagger to her feet.

“Are you ok?” she tentatively asked.

“Considering I just fell a good few hundred feet thanks to my TARDIS exploding…” the Phoenix glanced up at the sky and gasped “my TARDIS! I lost my ship! Ok, don’t panic. It isn’t the end of the world….well it could be but one thing at a time…” Vers’ brow creased as the alien rambled to herself, pacing on the spot. If this was some Skrull trick it was the weirdest one she’d ever witnessed.

“Who the hell are you?” the blonde demanded “are you a Skrull?”

The Phoenix blinked at her “What? No of course I’m not”, she replied “why would you…” she trailed off finally noticing the armor the woman was wearing “oh, you’re Kree Starforce! Then no, I assure you I’m not one of those shape shifty things”, she promised.

“Prove it”, Vers challenged, raising her fists, the pair of them glowing with energy making the Phoenix take a step back.

“Ok, take it easy”, she said “I’m…” the Time Lady frowned when she couldn’t recall her own name “I’m…” she tried again “I don’t know”, she admitted “its on the tip of my…” she stuck her tongue out, tapping her finger on it “what’s this?”

“Tongue”, Vers replied, getting rather irritated.

“Tongue!” the Phoenix cheered “Don’t you hate it when things just get away from you? Anyway what’s your name?”

“Vers”, the blonde supplied.

“Vers”, the Time Lady repeated “nice to meet you. Since my own name has currently escaped me, you can call me…Rose” her nose screwed up at that name “no, no. Don’t call me that. Stupid name. How about Shelly?” the Phoenix shook her head “Rachel? Laura?” she nodded “Laura. I like that. Better than nothing I suppose” the brunette looked at Vers “you can call me Laura”.

“I’m not calling you anything cos you’re a Skrull”, Vers stated “and a poor one at that”.

“No! Wait!” the Phoenix cried “I can prove that I’m not one”. She held up a hand and made it glow with the phoenix fire. Vers knew that Skrulls couldn’t mimic powers but it still begged the question of _what_ she was.

“You’re not one”, she proclaimed “so what are you?”

“I’m a Time Lady from the Planet Gallifrey”, the Phoenix replied “I’ve recently regenerated and it was kinda…” she made an exploding motion with her hands “cos of this, my ship tossed me out and disappeared. And as my mind and body are still shifting…trying to settle, I have no clue what my name is or where I’ve just been. All I know is that I’m a Time Lady with some extra powers passed down from my ancestor”.

“What powers do you have Laura?” Vers questioned.

“Strength, Speed, Phoenix fire…oh and I can turn into one. Though not now it seems”, the Phoenix explained.

“You seem to be one interesting being, Laura”, Vers remarked “powers like that would come in handy when working together”.

“Wait, you want to work together?” the Phoenix asked, confused. Normally she wouldn’t be so slow but her mind hadn’t fully settled yet.

“Of course. I doubt there’s anyone better to work with since these humans are clueless about Skrulls…and aliens in general”, Vers replied “so how about it?”

“It’s the only thing I can do until I figure out a way to find my TARDIS”, the Phoenix answered “and what exactly am I helping you with? Tracking down Skrulls?”

“Not as such. I’m looking Dr Wendy Lawson, she cracked the code on lightspeed engines. I have to find her before the Skrulls do”, Vers explained.

“Finding one human amongst billons of them?” the Phoenix questioned “sounds like a challenge I’m gonna enjoy” she rubbed her hands together “but first. Tea!” she pointed at the nearest internet café.

\----------------

 _That’s so much better_ Nix thought sitting back after she had downed her second cup of tea. She can feel her body and mind start to properly settle. “Another one please!” she called holding up her cup. She glanced at a man who was staring at her, mouth agape “Can I help you?” she asked.

“You just downed two hot cups of tea”, he stated “have you ever done shots?”

“Yes I have and no I won’t do any with you”, the Phoenix replied, nodding thanks to the waitress who refilled her cup.

“Why not?” the man asked.

“Cos believe it or not I have much better things to do with my time. Besides”, the Time Lady downed the third cup of tea “I’d easily drink you under the table”.

The human smirked, leaning closer “is that a promise?” he teased.

“Honey, it would be a guarantee”, the Phoenix pattered him on the shoulder and hopped off the stool. She dropped some money onto the counter and walked away. The man, Jack Harkness, watched her go, frowning. There was something awfully familiar about that woman…not appearance wise ut there was something else…

The Time Lady wandered over to where Vers was slowly typing away on the computer. “Mmm…not sure Pegasus will give you what you want”, she remarked “since it’ll mostly come up with stuff to do with the mythical flying horse. I suggest you try something else… something that isn’t from a myth”.

“You mean like Pancho’s Bar?” Vers suggested.

“Exactly like that”, the Phoenix agreed. Vers typed it into the search bar and the top result came up with the location of the bar. She stuck her hand into her pocket and rooted around until her hand closed around the thing she was looking for. She pulled it out and typed in the address of the bar. “Alright, we just follow this and we’ll get to Pancho’s. Just need a ride”, the Time Lady said.

“Then let’s go get one”, Vers said. She got up from the chair and the pair left the café.

“We also need to get you a change of clothes”, the Phoenix added “the suit is cool and all but its gonna draw unwanted attention to yourself”. Just as she said that, a bike pulled up nearby and its rider eyed them. Or more specifically Vers.

“Nice scuba suit”, he remarked. The Phoenix glanced at Vers with an ‘I told you so’ look.

“It’s for a sci-fi convention”, she offered. The biker didn’t say anything in response to that, he just got off his bike and walked into the internet café. “Now we have a ride” she nodded to a nearby store where a couple of mannequins were outside with some ladies clothing “and you’ve got some choices to make”.

Vers walked over to the mannequins and after considering them, she chose her clothes. "What about you, Nix?" She asked, turning to her.

The Time Lady stepped up to them, running her fingers over one of the jackets. Nothing seemed to scream the new her. Then again she didn't know who that was yet. "I'm going to stick with what I'm wearing". Yes, her clothes were a bit tattered but what else would you expect when falling several hundreds of feet?

She went back to the bike to wait for Vers to get dressed. The Phoenix closed her eyes, tilting her head to the sun. Vers walked back to the bike but stopped when she saw some kind of creature hovering around the Time Lady. "Nix!" she shouted. The Phoenix opened her eyes, startled and the creature vanished.

"Vers? You ok?" she asked concerned at the look on her face.

"You had something around you", Vers stated "some kind of creature". The Phoenix glanced around, even checking her back but there was nothing there. "It disappeared when you opened your eyes", Vers added.

"What did it look like?" The Phoenix asked.

"Well... like that", Vers replied pointing to her necklace. The Phoenix lifted it up and as she looked at it, her eyes widened. She gasped, falling back against the bike in shock. "Nix?" Vers asked taking a step toward her.

"That's my name", the Time Lady said so quietly, Vers didn't catch it.

"What?" she questioned.

"That's my name", the Phoenix repeated, louder "my name is the Phoenix. And I remember everything". She pushed herself away from the bike, taking out her GPS device that she’d rigged up from a few odds and ends. The Time Lady attached it to the handlebars “Let’s go find that bar”, she said hopping onto the said. Vers sat behind her and the Phoenix drove off.

“Nix!” Jack shouted rushing out of the café, cursing under his breath when he just missed the Time Lady and her friend. He couldn’t believe it was her. A dopey smile appeared over his face as he recalled their very brief time together when he was younger. “Damn she’s still hot”, he muttered.

\-------------------------------

It wasn’t long before the Time Lady and Vers had reached Pancho’s Bar. As they entered the building, the blonde recalled the flashes she’d gotten while the Skrulls had delved into her mind. “You ok?” the Phoenix asked as the Kree warrior.

“Yeah, fine”, Vers replied. She walked over to a wall of framed photographs.

“Well, what do you know”, the Phoenix murmured spotting a Pegasus symbol on the tail of one of the fighter jets “Pegasus”. In the back of her mind she was still going over the unexpected surprise of seeing Jack Harkness, the Time Agent she had a little fling with so long ago.

“What can I get you two?” the Bartender asked appearing behind them.

“Where was this photograph taken?” Vers questioned.

“At an airport”, the Bartender answered, though he didn’t seem so sure.

“Where's Pegasus?” Vers queried.

“That's classified”, Fury replied coming into view from behind the bar “Not unlike the file I started on you”. The Bartender looked at the newcomer confused but decided to make himself scarce, allowing the trio to talk privately “But I see you changed it up a bit since then. Grunge is a good look for you. And I see you’ve made a new friend” Fury moved out from behind the bar “Are you Starforce too?” he asked the Phoenix.

The Time Lady shook her head “no, I’m a Time Lady”, she corrected “you can call me Nix”.

“A Time Lady”, Fury repeated “that some kind of royalty?”

The brunette laughed, a blush appearing on her face as she recalled how Jack said something similar as a pick up line. She shook her head, willing the redness away. “Nope. It’s my species”, the Phoenix explained “you look like you’ve had a rather rough day…Mr?” 

“Agent Fury”, Vers supplied and she nodded in thanks.

“I can say the same for you Nix”, Fury shot back, eyeing her appearance, noting the state of her clothes.

“Fell out of my ship after regenerating”, the Time Lady answered “and you?” 

“Oh, you know, space invasion, big car chase, got to watch an alien autopsy. Typical 9 to 5”, Fury shrugged.

“That’s a normal Wednesday for me”, the Phoenix remarked and the corners of Fury’s mouth quirked up in a smile. 

“So you saw one?” Vers asked Fury.

“I was never one to believe in aliens. But I can't unsee that”, he replied.

“This is gonna get a little awkward but I gotta ask….” Vers started.

“You think I'm one of those green things”, Fury stated.

“They can look like anyone, can't be too careful”, the Phoenix said. It was true, neither of them had any clue if this was Agent Fury of whatever agency he was from. Doubtful it was UNIT. They were aware of aliens. Perhaps one of the 3 letter agencies? “What are you an agent of?” she questioned.

“SHIELD”, Fury answered, showing her his ID.

“That name sounds familiar”, the Phoenix said to herself “wasn’t one of its founders Peggy Carter?”

“It was”, Fury confirmed.

“I thought so”, the Phoenix said “Peggy was one amazing lady”.

“You knew her?” Fury asked, surprised but you don’t look old enough to know her”.

“I’m older than you think”, the Phoenix said “also a time traveller”.

Fury laughed “of course you are”, he said “after what I’ve seen today, I’ll believe almost anything”.

“This chat is nice but we need to get to the matter at hand”, Vers spoke up.

“Good point”, the Phoenix agreed “Skrulls can only recall recent memories so we’ll need to ask you about your past”. The three of them sat down at a table and the questioning began.

“Where were you born?” Vers asked.

“Huntsville, Alabama. But technically I don't remember that part”, Fury replied.

“Name of your first pet”, Vers said.

“Mr. Snuffers”, Fury told them.

Vers raised her brows “Mr. Snuffers?” she questioned, with amusement in her voice.

“That’s not so weird”, the Phoenix remarked “my best friend had a robot dog named K9. And I once rescued a little fire lizard named Bruni” Vers glanced at her “sorry, please continue”.

The Kree turned back to Fury “First job?”

“Soldier, straight out of high school. Got the ranks of full breed Colonel”, Fury explained “then I became a spy. Mainly in places like Belfast, Bucharest, Belgrade, Budapest…” the man grinned “I like the B’s, I can make them rhyme”.

“I’m liking you more and more”, the Phoenix remarked with a smile.

“What do you do now at SHIELD?” Vers asked. 

“Been riding a desk for the past few years, trying to figure out where our future enemies are coming from. Never occurred to me that they'd be coming from above”, Fury answered.

“Name a detail so bizarre a Skrull could never fabricate it”, Vers said. The Phoenix looked at her wondering why she wanted to know that. Fury had given them enough about his past that there was no way he was a Skrull.

“If toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it”, Fury said “You didn't need that did you?” he asked, realising that she was teasing him.

An amused smile appeared of Vers’ face “No. No, I didn't. But I enjoyed it”, she admitted.

“Ok. Your turn. Prove that you two aren’t Skrulls”, Fury challenged. Vers very calmly blasts energy out of her fists towards a jukebox on the opposite side of the room before resting her head back on her fist. Fury looked towards the jukebox, both concerned and confused.

“And how is that supposed to prove to me that you’re not a Skrull?” he questioned.

“It's a photon blast”, Vers replied.

“Skulls can’t replicate powers”, the Phoenix added “like hers…and mine”. She closed her eyes and after a moment she changed into the mythical bird of her namesake. Both Fury and Vers gasped, awestruck as she flew around room once before landing back onto the chair, changing back.

“That is soo cool”, the man breathed.

“So a full-bred colonel turned spy turned SHIELD agent must have pretty high-security clearance”, Vers commented “Where's Pegasus?”

Fury looked toward the Phoenix who shrugged “Sorry, Fury. I’m with her on this. We need to know where it is”, she said “we have to find Dr Lawson before the Skrulls do”.

The man sighed “alright. I’ll take you to Pegasus”, he said.

\-----------------

“So the Skrulls are alien races which infiltrate and overtake alien planets. And you're a Kree, a race of noble warriors”, Fury asked Vers while he drove.

“Heroes. Noble warrior heroes”, Vers corrected.

“And you’re a time traveller”, Fury said to the Phoenix who was in the back seat, playing with a Rubik cube.

“Yep”, the Phoenix confirmed “I can also travel in space too…with my TARDIS” she stopped fiddling with the cube “gotta get her back from wherever she is first”, she added, mostly to herself.

“So um….what do Skrulls want with Dr. Lawson?” Fury questioned to the Kree when the Phoenix didn’t elaborate.

“They believe she developed a light speed engine at Pegasus”, Vers answered.

“Light speed engine?” Fury repeated “I've got to admit, that's not the craziest thing I've heard today”. _Two minutes in my ship and I’ll have you beat on crazy_ the Time Lady thought, deftly spinning the sections of the Rubik cube around.

“Well, it's still early”, Vers remarked.

“That it is”, the Phoenix agreed. She finished solving the Rubik cube and moved onto making tricks with her yellow yoyo.

“The Skulls want the engine, what do you want, Vers?” Fury asked her.

“To stop the Skrulls before they become unstoppable”, Vers replied.

“And...?” Fury questioned “Look, war is a universal language. I know a rogue soldier when I see one, you've got a personal stake in this”. Before Vers could answer, they arrived at a bunker where Pegasus was supposedly housed.

 _This is a government property, turn your vehicle around_ came through the speaker at the security gate.

“Nicholas Joseph Fury, Agent of SHIELD”, Fury said.

_Place your thumb on the pad. One moment_

Fury did as he was instructed. “Nicholas Joseph Fury, you have three names?” Vers asked “but you’ve only got one name”, she added to the Phoenix.

“Time Lady”, the brunette offered “so what you prefer to be called, Agent Fury?”

“Fury”, the man replied “Not Nicholas, not Joseph, not Nick. Just Fury”.

“I think I’m gonna call you Nick, from now on”, the Phoenix said putting the yoyo away.

“You better not”, Fury said warningly.

“You can’t stop me _Nick_ ”, the Time Lady said, sticking her tongue out rather childishly.

_You're cleared for access_

“Thank you”, Fury said, rather relieved. The gate in front of the bar opens and he drove down the driveway, into a tunnel. When the car reached the end, Fury pulled up next to a car and the trio got out. “Oh, hold up. You look like somebody's disaffected niece”, Fury said to Vers “Put that on” he tossed a grey baseball cap with SHIELD's logo at her.

“What is this?” she asked, gesturing towards the logo.

“It's the SHIELD logo”, Fury answered.

“You know, it’s not very covert having the logo on clothing”, the Phoenix remarked.

“And Vers was covert with her rubber suit?” Fury countered.

“That suit was bad ass”, the Phoenix shot back “besides she’s not from around here, Nick”. A security guard and two armed airmen approach them.

“How can I help you?” the security guard asked eyeing the Phoenix and her tattered clothing but she wasn’t too bothered.

“We're agents of SHIELD”, Fury answered, handing his ID to the man. The Phoenix took out her psychic paper showing it to him as well. Fury was surprised to see that the Time Lady had SHIELD ID too. Maybe Peggy Carter had given it to her? If so why didn’t the Phoenix mention it before?

“We’re looking for a Dr. Wendy Lawson”, the Phoenix said lowering the leather wallet “Do you know her?”

The security guard gave Fury’s badge back to him and gestured across to a door “Follow me”, he said and they complied.

“Why didn’t you say you had a SHIELD badge?” Fury asked the Phoenix quietly as they walked.

“I don’t”, the Phoenix replied and showed him the psychic paper which she made sure that it was blank “psychic paper. I can make you see whatever I want”, she explained “very handy little thing”.

“You better not use it to get into SHIELD”, Fury said.

“I make no promises, Nick”, the Phoenix said “I may want to drop in from time to time”.

\-------------

“Why do I get the feeling we’re not going to be taken to see Lawson?” the Time Lady asked several minutes later, as she played with her yoyo. They’d been taken to an office where they were told to wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

“That’s because we’re not”, Fury replied, standing up. He went to the door and tried to use the thumb pad by it. It blinked red. He sighed before reaching into his pocket to grab his pager.

“Is that a communicator?” Vers asked, noticing it. Fury walked across the room, typing it.

“Yeah. State-of-the-art two-way pager”, he answered.

“And just who are you paging?” the Phoenix questioned, brow raised, setting aside her yoyo. 

“My mom. Don't worry, I didn't mention either of you”, Fury replied. The Time Lady frowned at that. Yeah…she highly doubted that’s who he was paging. She hopped off the desk where she’d been perched and walked over to the door. “I don’t think you’re going to get the door open”, Fury said to her.

“You wanna bet?” the Phoenix asked, taking out her sonic, spinning it in her fingers. She flashed it over the thumb pad and it flickered green. “Ta da”, she said, smugly.

“You couldn’t have done that sooner?” Fury questioned.

“I could but I wanted to get my yoyo trick down first”, the Phoenix said, opening the door “after you, Vers”. The Kree walked out of the room, the Time Lady and Fury following. They took the elevator down to the 5th floor where the records were held. 

As the trio approached the records room, an ginger cat padded up to them. “Aw” the Phoenix cooed leaning down, petting the feline “always wanted to get a cat but you’re much cooler than that aren’t you?”

“You are the cutest little thing”, Fury added, fawning over the cat “And what's your name, huh? What's your name?” he noticed the tag around her neck ‘Goose’, cool name for a cool cat”. The Phoenix opened her mouth to correct him that she was actually a Flerken when Vers called to them.

“Fury, Nix”, Vers called from where she now stood by the records room.

“I'll be back”, Fury said, stroking Goose.

“You better not eat any of us”, the Phoenix added when he walked away. Goose just rubbed her head against the Time Lady’s fingers. The brunette hoped that meant she wasn’t going to do that.

"Looks like we'll need your stick thing again", Fury remarked.

"It’s a sonic screwdriver", the Phoenix corrected "and I think I'll let Vers take this one". The Kree grinned at her and shot energy out of her fist causing the handle and lock to disappear.

Fury stared at her "You just sat there. When all you had to do was…" he imitated Vers shooting the energy.

"I wanted to see what either of you would do", she stated simply. She walked into the records room with both Fury and the Time Lady. The lights flickered on row by row revealing a massive warehouse of shelves full of boxes. The Phoenix followed Vers and Fury past a few aisles when a shadow caught her eye. The Time Lady went after it, stopping within feet of it. The brunette tilted her head, considering it. Nothing obvious seemed to be casting the shadow.

“Oh boy”, she breathed. She didn’t think she’d see a Vashta Nerada here of all places. The Phoenix had to be careful with this as it was very difficult to either trap or destroy them. Suddenly Goose hissed making her jump. “Damn it!” she cursed when the shadow slipped away. The Phoenix spun to the Flerken “What was that for?” she complained. Goose didn’t respond, she just eyed the end of the aisle. The Phoenix sighed and joined her only to stiffen when she saw several guys in tactical gear following a man in a suit. “Oh, fantastic”, the Time Lady grumbled. This was the last bloody thing she wanted when there was a Vashta Nerada on the loose.

She hoped that Vers and Fury had seen them too and had made a quick exit. The Phoenix watched the SWAT style guys peeled off one at a time, leaving the suit guy to go off on his own. She then noticed the shadow in the aisle across from her and grinned. The Phoenix silently darted over to it, hand blazing with phoenix fire and shoved it into the darkness. “That’ll teach you to come onto the planet I love”, the Time Lady growled. She extinguished her hand when the being seemed to disintegrate.

Now that the Vashta Nerada was dealt with, the Phoenix turned her attention to SWAT team spread out in the room. Swiftly but silently she took them out one by one, making sure to use non-lethal tactics as she’d had enough killing to last several lifetimes. Then she came across Fury fighting it out with the guy in the suit. “Now you know, I don't really need these to see…” the man held up the glasses “But, they do kinda complete the look, he put them on, his voice changing, telling the Phoenix that he was a Skrull “Don't you think?”

The Time Lady threw a rubber band ball at his head. “You talk too much”, she said, pulling Fury to his feet “Nick, run. Find Vers. I got this”. She moved forward, hands curling into fists.

“Nix I don’t think…” Nick started.

“Go!” the Phoenix shouted at him, her eyes shifting red-gold once more. Fury was startled by the change but did as she said.

“I’m not sure you’ll have better luck since you’re only human too”, Talos sneered.

The Phoenix laughed “I’m not human, Skrull”, she said, allowing the phoenix aura to flare around her as a display of power “I’m a Time Lady”. She ran at Talos and they started to fight. Several blows were exchanged before the Phoenix got the upper hand, using the aura to blast him backwards. The Time Lady then took off, Goose running next to her. 

“Nix up here!” Vers called to her. The brunette looked up to see a big hole in the ceiling. The Kree stuck a hand through it. The Phoenix scooped up Goose onto her shoulder before backing up slightly to take a running jump, grabbing hold of Vers’ hand. The warrior hauled her and the Flerken up.

“Thanks”, the Phoenix said to her. She then walked over to Fury, slapping him upside the head “Why the hell did you call them in!” she scolded, smacking him again “you stupid idiot!”

“Ow!” Fury cried “I know it was a mistake”.

“Ya think?” the Phoenix sassed “now, give me the pager”, she demanded, holding her hand out. Fury handed it over and she shoved it in her pocket “Now, we better get moving. We’re not safe here”.

“Agreed”, Vers said. The trio started running again. The Phoenix set Goose down so she could run on her own four paws. When the group reached a set of stairs, Agent Coulson appeared, his gun pointed at them. Vers was prepared to fight him but she didn’t have to as the man lowered his weapon, allowing all four of them to escape through the door behind them. 

They sprint out of the corridor before barricading the door behind them with a piece of metal. “There!” the Phoenix shouted, pointing to an aircraft.

“Do you know how to fly this thing?” Fury asked, settling into the chair behind the co-pilot’s where Vers decided to sit.

“I’m 853 years old”, the Phoenix stated “It’s safe to say I know how to fly a lot of aircraft, both alien and earth based”. She flicked a few switches, the engine roared to life and the wings extended out.

“That's what I'm talking about!” Fury cheered as the Time Lady expertly flew the plane out of underground tarmac area and over the open desert.

“Told you I knew how to fly it”, the Phoenix said.

“I’m more surprised that you’re 853”, Fury remarked.

“Well, if you remember I did say that I was older than I looked”, she reminded him.

“Yeah, but by not several centuries”, Fury stated.

“Time Lady”, the Phoenix just offered. Goose jumped into her lap and the Time Lady scratched her behind the ears with one hand while keeping the other on the controls.

“See anyone you know?” Vers asked passing back a photograph to Fury “Funny story... I arrived on Hala, near dead, no memory... That was six years ago”.

“So you think you're the pilot that went down with Dr Lawson”, Fury commented looking at the photograph.

“Wait, are you saying that you had a life, here on Earth?” the Phoenix asked Vers “blimey I missed quite a bit”.

“I don’t know for sure”, the Kree admitted “but the last person to see them alive can probably tell us”.

“Maria Rambeau”, Fury nodded.

“Where’s she at then?” the Phoenix asked.

“Louisiana”, Vers answered.

“I went there once to see a Mardi Gras festival”, the Phoenix said “that was really fun. Should stop by there again when I get a spare five minutes”.

“That agent, that stopped the Skrulls from fighting us...” Vers began.

“Coulson. New guy. Guess he doesn't hate me yet”, Fury remarked.

“Yeah well, give him time”, Vers said with a smile.

“I guess he had a feeling, went with his gut against orders”, Fury continued “It's a really hard thing to do. That's what keeps us human”.

“I get in trouble for that. A lot”, Vers confessed.

“And now I like you even more”, the Phoenix told her.

The Kree laughed “thanks”, she said.

“I guess it’s not standard Kree operating procedure, rescuing the guy how sold you out to the Skrulls”.

“Well, I won't tell your boss if you don't tell mine”, Vers said making Fury laugh.

“If you guys do get into trouble, I’ll bail you out”, the Phoenix assured them.

“With your psychic paper?” Fury asked.

“More than likely”, the Phoenix replied “plus a few other tricks”.

\---------------

Several hours later, the aircraft touched down on the road close to a Maria’s house. As the Phoenix exited, the TARDIS key in her pocket started to heat up. “She’s here”, the Time Lady breathed.

“Where are you going?” Fury called as she started to run.

“To find my ship!” she called back “I won’t be long!”

The Phoenix found her TARDIS in a small clearing. She tilted her head in confusion at what she was seeing. It seemed her ship was struggling to decide what form to take. The Time Lady put the key in the lock and tried to turn it but it wouldn’t budge. “You still rebuilding, aren’t you?” she asked, placing a hand on a door “alright. Take all the time you need”. The Phoenix took the key out of the lock and pocketing it.

She turned and walked back to the aircraft and the house. As the brunette neared the building, she noticed a Skrull approaching it. “Oh, no you don’t”, she said and took off towards the green skinned alien. The Phoenix grabbed him and shoved him against the wall.

“Oh, it’s you”, the Skrull said, none too happy to see the one who’d bested him.

“Nice to see you in your normal form…Mr?”

“Talos”, the Skrull supplied.

“Nice to see you in your normal form Talos”, the Phoenix repeated “And you do know there is no way I’m letting you get anywhere near Vers so I suggest you give up right now”.

“You don’t understand. I don’t want to hurt Vers, I actually need her help”, Talos told her. the Phoenix raised a brow, not believing him. “Look, just take me inside and let me talk to her”, he continued “if Vers doesn’t believe me then you can pummel me”.

“I like that plan”, the Phoenix said. She took hold of Talos by the shoulder and dragged him into the house. “Look who I found outside”, she announced to Vers, Fury and Maria “he claims that he only wants to talk to you, Vers”.

“It’s Carol”, other blonde corrected “my real name is Carol”.

“You remember?” the Phoenix asked.

“Little bits and pieces”, the newly named Carol replied “Monica helped with that”.

“Who’s Monica?” the Time Lady questioned.

“She’s my daughter”, Maria glanced out the window only to see herself outside with her little girl “Oh my God. What the hell?”

“No one's gonna hurt the girl”, Talos assured her “Just, don't kill me. That would really complicate the situation”.

“I'm about five seconds from complicating that wall with some ugly-ass Skrull brains”, Fury said, continuing to point his weapon at the Skrull.

“I'm sorry I simmed your boss. But now I stand before you as my true self. Without deception”, Talos said.

“Except your friend is with her daughter”, the Phoenix said nodding to Maria.

“Okay, that's a fair point. But I'm sure that you understand, I had to take some precautions”, Talos stated “can you blame me? I saw Vers…sorry, Carol crush 20 of my best men with her hands bound. And you…Time Lady…”

“My name is the Phoenix but you can call me Nix”, the Phoenix cut in.

“Ok, Nix. YOU bested me very easily. And given those facts, I had to take some measures”, Talos added “but I promise, I just wanna talk”.

"Last time we talked, I ended up hanging from my ankles", Carol reminded him.

"That was before I knew who you were", Talos said, defensively "Before I found what made you different from the others. I have an audio recording from Pegasus, of your voice, from a plane crash six years ago. On a device I believe you call a 'black box'".

Maria frowned "They told me it was destroyed in the crash", she said "How'd you get it?"

"Does she not understand?" Talos asked the others "Young lady I have a special skill that kinda allows me to get into places I'm not supposed to be".

"Call me young lady again, and I'm gonna put my foot in a place it's not supposed to be", Maria threatened.

Confusion appeared on the Skrull's face "Am I supposed to guess where that is?" He questioned.

"Your ass", everyone, including the Phoenix replied.

Talos put his hands up "Okay, I get it. We're all a little on edge here", he said "But look, I just need your help decoding some coordinates. If you sit down, you listen to this, I assure you, it'll be worth your while".

"Call your buddy back inside and I'll listen", Carol said.

"Deal", Talos agreed. Goose wandered in and rubbed herself against his legs. The Skrull rather comically jumped backwards, surprised. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed "Get that thing away! How'd that get in here?"

The Phoenix scooped up Goose. "Aw, you're not a thing are you?" she cooed, stroking her.

"You really shouldn't do that", Talos warned.

"Why? Cos she's a Flerken?" the Phoenix shot back.

"What's a Flerken?" Carol asked.

"A highly dangerous beast", Talos answered, eyeing the feline warily as she stretched in the Time Lady's arms before relaxing.

"She's not so bad", the Phoenix said.

"That's because she likes you", Talos muttered.

"She's also a good incentive for you to behave", the Phoenix countered, having heard him. Monica then walked in with Carol’s old jacket in her hands. She did a double take when she saw her mother standing by her aunt. She glanced back at whom she thought was her mother and saw the Skrull changing back.

“Mom? What’s going on?” Monica asked, confused. Maria explained as best as she could with a little help from, Carol, the Phoenix and Fury. Once that was done, everyone went out to the barn so Carol could listen to the recording. However, Monica was made to stay outside by her mother.

Maria put the CD into the computer and a loading bar appeared. “What's happening?” Carol asked.

“It's loading”, Fury replied. Slowly but surely, the black box recording finished loading and started to play.

 _“Punch in the coordinates. 5229, -47, 8.768, 0.2”_ , Lawson instructed.

 _“Copy that. Where are we going Doc?”_ came Carol’s voice on the recording.

 _“My laboratory”_ , Lawson replied.

A look of contemplation appeared on the Phoenix’s face. Its sounded like Lawson’s lab was in Earth’s orbit. That would’ve been very easy if her TARDIS was alright but since she wasn’t, they’ll have to find another way to get to it. Maybe she could tweak the aircraft to enable it to go into space? The Phoenix, nodded. Yes, that will be there way. It’ll take some time but she was sure that she’ll be able to do it.

The moment the recording finished, Carol marched out of the barn. “He lied to me”, she stated, upset “Everything that I knew was a lie!”

“Now you understand”, Talos said, following her outside.

“What? What do I understand now?” Carol demanded.

“Yon-Rogg killed Mar-Vell. He killed her. Because she found out that she was on the wrong side of an unjust war”, Talos told her.

“No. Your people are terrorists... that kill innocents. I saw the ruins on Torfa”, Carol said adamantly.

“Ruins that the Accusers are responsible for. My people lived as refugees on Torfa”, Talos said “you know what it’s been like for them Nix”, he added, turning to her “you’ve helped some of them”.

The Phoenix shook her head “I think I’d remember if I helped Skrulls”, she said.

“They were in disguise. It was on Hionia…”

“The family of farmers”, the Phoenix breathed “I saved their son from being executed. I…protected their land”.

“And that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the rest of my people. Neither has that word…Ohana, wasn’t it?” Talos asked.

“It was”, the Phoenix confirmed “You’re family is in Mar-Vell’s lab, aren’t they?”

“They are”, Talos answered.

“Alright, I’m in”, the Phoenix said. If Talos’ family was in trouble then she was going to help them and any other Skrulls that needed aid.

“Thank you”, Talos said, grateful “Carol, I can’t do this without you too. Help us help me finish what Mar-Vell started. The coordinates you found, would've powered a lightspeed ship capable of carrying us to safety. A new home, where the Kree can't reach us”.

“Lawson always told us that her work at Pegasus wasn't to fight wars, but to end them”, Maria spoke up.

“She wanted you to help us find the core”, Talos added.

“Well, I already destroyed it”, Carol reminded him.

The Skrull shook his head “No, you destroyed the _engine_. The core that powered it is in a remote location. If you help us decode those coordinates, we can find it”.

“You'll use it to destroy us”, Carol insisted.

“No, they won’t”, the Phoenix said “they just want a home, a safe place to raise their children”.

“Can't you see it now Carol?” Talos asked “You're not one of them”.

“You don't know me. You have no idea who I am. I don't even know who I am!” Carol exclaimed.

“You ARE Carol Danvers”, Maria said, stepping forward “You are the woman on that black box risking her life to do the right thing. My best friend... who supported me as a mother, and a pilot when no one else did. You're smart and funny, and a huge pain in the ass. And you are the most powerful person I knew, way before you could shoot fire from your fist”. Carol smiled, thankful to have her best friend with her.

“You know, those numbers for Mar-Vell’s lab, they aren’t coordinates. They’re state vectors”, the Phoenix pointed out.

“For orbital positioning and velocity”, Fury added.

“You didn't find her lab on Earth, because it's not on Earth”, Maria put in.

“That was the location on the day of the crash six years ago. If we track its course, we'll find it, in orbit, right now”, Carol said.

“It's just basic physics”, Maria stated.

Talos turned to the other Skrull “In orbit?” he repeated “Was that so difficult to figure out? I mean, you're my science guy, right?” the Skrull scientists nods then looks down briefly, disappointed in himself.

“Yon-Rogg will catch up to my soon. We've got to get the core before he does”, Carol said.

“I can modify the aircraft so it can go into space”, the Phoenix offered.

“Do it”, Carol said.

The Time Lady nodded. She turned to the Skrull, pointing at him “You, science guy”, she said “you’re helping”. She didn’t wait for him to respond before heading off to were the aircraft was parked.


	2. Chapter 2

As the Phoenix worked on the aircraft, she felt the eyes Skrull Scientist bore into her. “You know, staring at me isn’t at all productive”, she remarked, turning to him.

“Sorry, it’s just I saw the feather on your necklace and I heard this legend about one of your ancestors being an actual phoenix”, he explained “is it true?”

“Yes, it’s true”, the Phoenix confirmed “it was actually the first Time Lady in my line, the matriarch if you will”, she touched the feather “this was hers. It gets passed down from mother to daughter”, she went back to work but didn’t get very far when Science Guy spoke up.

“Listen, I just wanted to say…how sorry I am. For the War…your people…”

The Phoenix’s hand tightened around the tool she was holding, the other going to the necklace she wore. “It’s so lonely”, she whispered “I could feel them in my mind but now there’s nothing”. A tear rolled down her face. A hand settled on her shoulder and she looked up to see Talos standing there. He didn’t have to say anything, the Time Lady understood what he was silently conveying to her. He was showing his support and understanding since he too had lost so much in the war between his people and the Kree.

The Skrull removed his hand and turned his gaze to the aircraft. “It looks good”, he remarked “will it get us to the lab?”

“Of course it will”, the Phoenix answered, wiping away the tears “I do know what I’m doing Talos”, she fixed up her ponytail “plus I had a good assistant”, she added, nodded to Skrull scientist.

“You know, I really can’t thank you enough for what you did for that family”, Talos said “if there is anything we can do…”

“You don’t need to do anything. I helped them because I wanted to, cos it was the right thing to do”, the Phoenix cut in.

“Still, if there’s anything we can do…anything you need…name it”, Talos said.

“Well, if you really want to ‘repay’ me then how about this: from now we’re allies. Whenever any of your people need help, I will be there and vice versa”.

“Agreed”, Talos said. To have the Phoenix as an ally to himself and his people was a serious win. From what he knew about her, she was the best person/alien to have on their side. He jumped when Goose suddenly rubbed against his legs. “It’s not funny!” he exclaimed when the Time Lady giggled at his reaction.

“It’s a little funny”, the Phoenix said, scooping the Flerkin up “you’re just being friendly to Talos, aren’t you?” she cooed “yes you are”.

“She really should be tossing that thing into the nearest black hole”, Talos muttered to his science guy as they watched the Time Lady walk away, chattering away to Goose.

“Definitely”, the other Skrull agreed.

The Phoenix set Goose down when she reached the clearing where her TARDIS sat. She rolled her shoulders and her neck, loosening them up before she changed into her bird form. Goose took off, startled by it. The Time Lady soared through the sky letting out a laugh…or the bird equivalent of one. She loved this! It gave her so much freedom and she didn’t feel so burdened with things.

\--------------

A couple of hours later, they departed for Mar-Vell’s lab. They being the Phoenix, Fury, Talos, Carol, Maria AND Goose. Of course Talos was less than happy about that. “Passing 500 and climbing”, the Time Lady reported. Given her experience, everyone thought she was the best one to pilot the aircraft out of earth’s atmosphere.

“You know, you really shouldn't have that thing on your lap”, Talos remarked eyeing Goose that was on Fury’s lap.

“Our little alliance with you is tenuous at best”, Fury told him “And as long as she continues to freak you out…” he picked up the Flerkin and shoves him towards Talos' face, the Skrull jerking back in his seat “…like that, yeah I'm gonna keep giving her all the love and hugs she needs, right?”

The Phoenix pressed her lips together to prevent a bubble of laughter from erupting. Fury was something else. Not a lot of things seemed to faze him. She could honestly see him becoming Director of SHIELD one day. If that day did come, then he would have an ally in her.

“Can I ask you something? Do you just turn into anything you want?” Maria asked Talos.

“Ah well, I have to see it first”, the Skrull replied.

“Can you all do it?” Maria questioned.

“All Skrulls are physiologically capable”, the Phoenix spoke up “but it does take practice and skill”.

“Can you turn into a cat?” Fury queried.

Talos frowned “What's a cat?”

“An earth based animal”, the Phoenix answered “looks like Goose”. Talos nodded in understanding.

“What about a filing cabinet?” Maria asked.

Talos looked at her confused “Why would I turn into a filing cabinet?”

“Guys come on”, Carol said “you’re distracting Nix”.

“They’re fine Carol”, the Time Lady waving her off “just having a little fun”.

“A Venus fly trap”, Fury challenged “I'll give you $50 right now if you turn into a Venus fly trap”. Talos sighs, annoyed at Fury and Maria.

“Switching engines from Scramjet to fusion. Buckle up, folks”, the Phoenix informed everyone and pushed down a lever, causing the plane to suddenly climb further into the sky and every one was forced back into their seats.

“Hey. Is this normal, like space turbulence?” Fury asked as the aircraft shook while it continued to climb.

“Pretty much”, Carol replied.

“Don’t worry Nick, it’s going to be fine”, the Phoenix assured him. As the aircraft left the Earth’s atmosphere, things inside the plane started to float in the zero gravity. Carol flicked a switch and the gravity turned on. “Locking in coordinate grid”, the Time Lady said.

“Where is it?” Maria asked, getting up from her seat, looking out of the window.

“It's here. It's gotta be here”, Talos said, gazing out at the large expanse of empty space in front of the aircraft.

“Well, is it in front of all that nothing, or behind it?” Fury questioned.

“It’s there, Nick”, the Phoenix said “it’s just cloaked”. Carol used the computer on the sleeve of her suit to bring down the cloaking.

“Now that’s one hell of a lab”, Fury remarked. The Phoenix piloted the aircraft toward Mar-Vell’s lab. She parked it in the hanger where the group disembarked and made their way to the main area of the ship.

“Is that it? The core?” Maria asked eyeing the blue glowing cube sitting in the reactor on one side of a large room.

“In her notes, she called it the Tesseract”, Carol replied. She took it from the reactor, tossing it in the air once and then started to walk around the room, taking in the surroundings. There was a lot of children’s stuff. It seems like Mar-Vell had provided things for the Skrull children to play with.

The Phoenix picked up an unfinished Rubik cube and started to spin it around. Maria took a _The Fonz_ lunchbox and opened it up where Carol popped the Tesseract inside. “So where’s your family, Talos?” the Phoenix asked, looking up from the coloured cube.

“They’re here”, Talos replied and then made a noise, sounded almost like singing. As soon as he did that, several Skrulls appeared. Talos wife, Soren walked over and hugged him. She then gestured for her daughter to join them.

“We didn't know what to do. Mar-Vell warned us not to send a signal for any reason or the Kree would find us”, Soren explained.

“You did the right thing”, Talos told her. Soren then noticed the others in the room. She tried to back away but Talos stops her.

“It's okay, it's okay”, he assured her and nodded to Carol “she is a friend” he also gestured to the Phoenix “this is the Phoenix, she’s also our friend, our ally”. Suddenly the doors burst open and Yon-Rogg stormed in with his Kree team. The Phoenix, dropped the Rubik Cube and moved to stand in front of everyone protectively.

“Leave”, she ordered.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that”, Yon-Rogg said “now get out of our way”.

“No”, the Phoenix said “ _you_ leave, right now before I kick all of your asses. And trust me, I can do it with one hand behind my back”. Yon-Rogg exchanged looks with the other members of his team before they burst out laughing. The Phoenix shut up Carol’s former mentor by blasting him backwards with a little phoenix fire. She held her hands out towards the other Kree in warning. “Unless you want the same treatment”, she said “now, why don’t you scurry back to your ship and leave these good people in peace?” she suggested.

Unbeknownst to the Time Lady, Minn-Erva had slipped in through another door and pointed her rifle at the brunette. She fired. The Phoenix cried out, crumpling to the floor. Chaos then ensued. The Time Lady tried to help but whatever the Kree had shot her with really hurt! She tried to stop herself from passing out from the pain but alas, she couldn’t.

The next thing the Phoenix knew, she in some really strange room. “Where the hell am I?” she asked, getting to her feet.

“With me”, a familiar voice replied. The Time Lady gasped when her mother appeared.

“Mother”, she breathed.

“Not, quite. I’m just borrowing her image for the time being. I’m the Supreme Intelligence”, the woman explained “the AI leader of Hala”.

“This shouldn’t be possible”, the Phoenix said “you shouldn’t be able to work on me”.

“Some modifications where made to the machine so I could talk to you”, the Supreme Intelligence told her “You’re a threat to the Kree”.

“You got that right”, the Phoenix walked forward, eyes blazing angrily “now let me out or so help me I will _burn_ you to the ground”.

The Supreme Intelligence scoffed “with what exactly?” she asked “that power of yours makes you a formidable enemy…to a point but you cannot destroy me”.

Now it was the Phoenix’s turn to scoff “I think you misheard me. I didn’t say I was going to destroy you. I said I was going to BURN you!” The Supreme Intelligence actually took a step back, her eyes wide when the red-gold glow appeared around the Time Lady. “I am the Phoenix! I am the flame that never dies! I protect those who need it and I burn those who deserve it”.

Still glowing, the Phoenix walked towards the Supreme Intelligence. The AI held out a hand, blasting her with green energy. It barely fazed the Time Lady. She just kept moving closer to the Supreme Intelligence. When she was within feet of the AI, it stopped blasting her. The Phoenix smirked at how afraid she seemed to be and let loose. Red-gold energy exploded from her body, crackling in the air like fire.

On the ship, the Time Lady’s eyes flew open and she flung back her captors with the same energy. “Never try to cage me again”, she said to their unconscious forms. The last time anyone did that was the High Council and she made them regret it. There was a reason her family used to be highly revered amongst their people. It wasn’t just the power but the wisdom too. She turned and ran off to look for the others.

Fury and Maria gaped at the Phoenix and Carol, who were both glowing, different colours though. “You both know you're glowing, right?” Fury stated.

“Yeah we do”, the Phoenix said, making the red-gold glow disappear.

“I'll explain it later”, Carol said, the Time Lady nodding in agreement. Carol opened up the lunchbox, revealing the Tesseract “Take the Tesseract, leave the lunchbox”, she instructed Fury.

The man raised his brows “Me?” he asked.

“Yes”, Carol replied.

“I'm _not_ touching that thing”, Fury said firmly.

“Shall we get you an oven mitt?” the Phoenix teased with a grin. Suddenly Goose lurched forward in Fury’s arms, large tentacles emerging from her mouth. She swallowed the Tesseract and the black man set Goose down, rather shocked by what she did.

“Did you know she could do that?” Fury asked the Time Lady.

“Yes”, the Phoenix replied “she’s a Flerken”.

“Get the Skrulls in the QuadJet and go”, Carol ordered “Take the Flerken with you. Nix, go with them. Keep them safe”. The Phoenix nodded in agreement.

“What about you?” Maria asked.

“I'll buy you some time”, Carol replied took off.

“I'm picking you up now”, Fury said slowly bending down to pick up Goose “I'm trusting you not to eat me” he straightened up and gave the Phoenix an annoyed look “Why didn’t you say that she could do that?”

“Didn’t seem to be too important”, the Phoenix replied making Fury blink at her, rather surprised by her response “now come on. We’ve got to find those Skrulls”.

\---------------

The group came across several Kree which Maria fired at until Goose swallowed them up. “Okay”, Maria said slowly.

“Good kitty”, Fury said scratching Goose behind the ears.

“Really good kitty”, the Phoenix grinned at the Flerken. They started off when more Kree appeared behind them.

“Hey! In a hurry?” one of them called. Maria, Fury and the Phoenix turned around.

“Yeah, just a little”, the Phoenix said sarcastically “I don’t suppose you would mind putting down your weapons and surrendering?” she suggested “No? Ok”. The Time Lady fired a red-gold blast at each of the Kree soldiers, except the one who’d spoken. “Nice disguise Talos”, she remarked.

Fury and Maria looked at her, surprised. “How did you know it was him?” Fury asked.

“If he was a real Kree, he would’ve shot first, said something later”, the Time Lady replied.

Talos smiled “you’re good”, he commented “Do you have the thing?”

“Flerken kitty ate it”, Fury answered. The group made their way to the hanger where four Kree soldiers were escorting the Skrulls onto the ship.

“Cover her eyes”, Talos said quietly to Soren who covered her daughter’s eyes. He then shot all the Kree. “Get on the ship. Let's go, let's go!” he urged to the Skrulls. They hurried onto the ship, the Phoenix covering their escape blocking the Kree’s shots with her phoenix fire.

She cried out when one of the shots that she missed, catching her in the side. Fury ran forward, grabbing her, slinging an one of her arms around his shoulders and took her into the ship. “Are you alright?” he asked taking her to the co-pilot’s chair.

“I’ll live”, the Time Lady replied “but now I’m really pissed”.

“Save it for later”, Maria advised “cos I think we’re going to need it”. She started up the aircraft and flew away from the lab. It wasn’t long before the Kree came after them, shooting at them. Thanks to Maria’s nifty flying she managed to get behind Minn-Erva’s pod and destroyed.

“Nice flying”, the Phoenix commented with a grin.

“Thanks”, Maria said, returning her smile. Unfortunately, their relief is short lived when they saw a very large ship suddenly appear.

“That’s not good”, Fury said. If it wasn’t bad enough, the ship started firing missiles “that’s really not good!”

“Get this ship to safety”, the Phoenix ordered, starting to glow red-gold “I’ll deal with them”.

“What are you going to do?” Fury asked.

“Unleash the phoenix”, the Time Lady answered simply. She made her way to the back on of the craft.

“Good luck”, Talos said as she waited for the ramp to lower enough for her to get out.

“They’re the ones who need luck Talos”, the Phoenix said “see you on the flip side”. She then dove out of the aircraft. The glow intensified as she fell before she was once again changed into the phoenix. She flew up towards the missiles being joined by Carol. Together they turned one of the missiles around, sending it back towards the others causing them to explode one by one.

The pair flew through the fire and when they emerged, the Phoenix had shifted back into her Time Lady form and she was ablaze. Not that the fire hurt her, she was descended from a being born of fire after all. The spaceship deploys several drones which were no match for the combined powers of Carol and the Phoenix. They then plowed through one of the Kree ships, completely obliterating it. The pair hovered in front of the window of the one of the ships.

Ronan looked at the two females and their impressive display of power. “Return to the jump point. We'll be back for the weapon”, he ordered.

“The core?” one of the Accusers asked.

“The women”, Ronan corrected. Carol and the Phoenix watched as the remaining Kree ships retreated. The two of them returned to Earth where Yon-Rogg’s pod had crashed after Carol made that happen. They walked over to where the Kree was. He started to point his gun at them but then he put it away.

“I'm so proud of you”, he said to Carol “You've come a long way since I found you that day by the lake. But can you keep your emotions in check long enough to take me on? Or will it get the better of you, as always? I always told you... you'll be ready, the day you can knock me down as yourself. This is that moment. This is that moment, Vers!” he raised his fists, preparing to fight her “Turn off the light show, and prove, prove to me, you can beat me without...”

Carol shoots Yon-Rogg with a small blast and the Phoenix smirked at her response. The two of them walked towards as the Kree tried to crawl backwards, afraid. “Carol has nothing to prove to you”, the Time Lady said to him, pushing her tiredness aside. “This IS her true self, powers and all” she turned to Carol “permission to do something?”

“Sure”, Carol replied. The Phoenix grabbed Yon-Rogg’s hand and dragged him back to his pod. She stuffed him inside and programmed it for go back to Hala.

“I can't go back empty-handed”, Yon-Rogg said.

“Oh, you won’t be going back empty handed”, the Phoenix told him “I’m sending you back with a message. You tell the Supreme Intelligence that I, the Phoenix, ally to the Skrulls and Carol Danvers is coming to end it”.

“And I will be getting in on that action too”, Carol added.

“You two can't do this”, Yon-Rogg insisted.

“Yes. We can”, the Phoenix shot back “and we will”. She started up the pod, using the phoenix fire to kick start it. The pair watched the pod take off into the sky.

In the Quadjet, Fury was holding Goose in front of his face, cooing to her. “That was a close call, huh, Goosey? Huh? The bad guy's still in there somewhere” the Flerken swiped at his eye with her paw “Oh! MOTHER FLERKEN!!!”

“You okay?” Maria asked him, worriedly.

“Yeah. It's just a scratch”, Fury assured her. Talos shook his head, knowing that is was more serious.

\-------------------

Several hours later they were at Maria’s house, enjoying dinner. “I can't believe you got into the raddest dogfight ever”, Carol said to her friend as they talked about what had happened.

“I'd say you arrived just in time”, Maria said.

“That's some nifty flying you did out there”, Fury remarked “SHIELD could always use a good pilot like you”.

“I'll consider it”, Maria said “As long as you don't call my flying nifty again”.

“How's your eye, Nick?” the Phoenix asked Fury.

“Getting better every second”, he replied.

“Just so I'm clear, you were Soh-Larr, and the SHIELD agent?” Carol questioned.

“Keller. Tied my boss up, stole his identity”, Fury spoke up before Talos could say anything.

“I borrowed his likeness. I'm no thief”, Talos insisted.

“It is kinda like stealing Talos”, the Phoenix said with a smile “I mean, you didn’t exactly ask for their permission”. Suddenly she felt her TARDIS key heat up and took it out to see it glowing.

“What does that mean?” Carol asked her.

“It means that my ship is finally ready”, the Phoenix replied. She stood up from the table “it was really nice to meet all of you and Talos, I will be more than happy to help you guys look for a home. After I take my ship for a spin”. The Time Lady bid them all goodbye and walked out of the house.

“Nix, wait!” Fury called, running after her.

“What is it, Nick?” the Phoenix asked.

“Take Goose with you, please”, he begged “I cannot look after that Flerken”.

The Phoenix placed a hand on his shoulder “Nick, you are the best person to take care of her. Despite the fact that she hurt you. Plus she’s yet to cough up the Tesseract and there’s no one I’d trust more with it”, she said. She took the pager out of her pocket and handed it over to him.

“What have you done to it?” Fury asked, looking it over. It was definitely different to when he’d been forced to hand it over.

“Made some modifications”, the Phoenix replied “it’ll reach me whenever or wherever I am in time and space. Plus it’ll help you get in contact with Carol”.

“But it’s for emergencies only”, Carol said firmly.

“For me, you can call me anytime you need help, ok?” the Phoenix said to Fury “now you two are going to wanna watch this”. Carol and Fury watched her enter the TARDIS, pushing the door closed. Maria and the others came out when the engine’s started up.

“Now that is pretty cool”, Fury commented as the ship vanished.


	3. Chapter 3

“Many that feels so much better!” the Phoenix proclaimed after she stepped out of the shower. She definitely needed that after what she’d been through. The brunette wrinkled her nose up at her tattered garments on the bed. There was no way she was wearing those anymore. She threw a robe on and headed to her very large wardrobe.

The Phoenix wandered along the rows and rows of clothes, hand lightly trailing along the garments. “Nope. Nope. Nope”, she said when she occasionally took out a random outfit. Then she came across green slim fitting cargo/combat trousers and smiled, she liked those. The Phoenix paired it with to vest tops. One white and one blue. “Looking good”, she said to herself taking a look at herself in the mirror once she was dressed. The brunette glanced at her socked feet, contemplating shoes. They needed to be practical and complete her new style. After a little bit of searching, she found a pair of brown boots.

Now that she had a complete outfit, she debated what do with her hair. After a little experimenting, she decided to stick with practical and go for a pony tail. The Phoenix nodded her approval and headed to the console room to chose somewhere new to go. She’d literally decided when all of a sudden the TARDIS shook violently, throwing her to the floor. “What the heck was that for?” she asked, pulling herself up. No sooner had she done that when the ship shook again. The Phoenix couldn’t do anything except hold on as tightly as possible while the TARDIS was being like this.

~Singer Salvage Yard~

Bobby Singer came out of his house when he heard an extremely loud noise. He gaped as a blue box dropped out of the sky, spinning wildly. It landed on its side with a thud, leaving a bit of a crater underneath it.

He grabbed his shotgun and slowly approached the box, stopping when a figure quite literally flew out of it. “A Police box?” the female questioned, waving her arms about “of all the things you could be, you decided to be that? What is wrong with you TARDIS?”

At those words, Bobby relaxed. He now knew who that was: the Phoenix. By the looks of things, she’d changed or to use her words, regenerated. “Nix!” he called, settling down his weapon and continued to walk over to her.

A smile broke out on the Time Lady’s face “Bobby!” she cried, happily, running over to give the man a hug “so good to see a familiar face! Sorry about the landing, ship had a bit of a wobbly for some reason”.

“Don’t worry about it”, Bobby said waving her apology off.

“You still kicking supernatural ass?” the Phoenix asked with a grin as they walked back to the house.

“Not so much these days”, the man replied “mostly do the research and keep my ears open for any activity to pass along”. He pushed open the door, allowing her to enter first “Actually its good that you’re here. I got this note that I cannot make heads or tails of” Bobby lead her to the study and showed it to her.

The Phoenix’s eyes wide. It was written in Gallifreyan! “Bobby…where did you get this?” she asked slowly, taking it from him.

“I found it taped to my front door one day. It your signature on the back so I knew you’d be able to help”, Bobby explained. The Time Lady turned it over to see the little fire symbol that she often signed with so that her friends and members of her Ohana know its her and her enemies didn’t. The Phoenix turned it over to re-read the message. “What does it say?”

“I need to help these guys with a Wendigo problem, Sam and Dean Winchester”, the brunette replied.

Bobby sighed “oh, those boys…”

“You know them?” the Phoenix asked, tucking the note in her pocket.

“They’re like sons to me”, the man answered “can you help them?”

“Of course I can. Don’t worry, Bobby that thing won’t lay a clawed hand on them”, the Time Lady assured him. Wanting to get to them as soon as possible, the Phoenix hurried out of the house. She’d barely reached the porch when she changed into her bird form and flew away.

\------------

Sam shielded the three Collins’ as the Wendigo came slowly closer to them. “Hey!” Dean shouted. The creature turned to face him but before the older Winchester could shoot, an flaming arrow flew through the air. It impaled the Wendigo and it went up in flames. “Hey!” Dean repeated, this time to the shooter who disappeared “get them out!” he shouted to his brother before he went after the mystery archer. “Wait!” he called and the figure stopped “who are you?”

“Nyx Drake”, she replied, slowly turning to him, pushing her hood down to reveal an attractive brunette.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the save but how did you know where we were?” Dean questioned “were you hunting that thing too?”

“Yes, I was”, the Phoenix replied “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have something to be”. The brunette took off before Dean could say another word. She made sure that she was far enough away when she changed into her phoenix form. Last thing she needed was Dean to shoot her down. Bobby might be ok with who she was but not all hunters will be.

\-------------

A few hours later saw the Time Lady perched inside a doughnut, munching on an iced treat. She would’ve gone straight back to the Salvage Yard in Sioux Falls but she’d gotten hungry. Plus it was going to take some time for her ship to sort itself out. “Miss!” a familiar voice called. The brunette glanced over the side to see the one and only Nick Fury looking up at her “I’m gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut”.

“Sure!” the Phoenix said and leapt out of the doughnut, landing in front of him “Nick…you haven’t changed a day”, she remarked, eyeing his appearance. She also noted that his eye that Goose had clawed was completely fine. There was also no damage around the eye socket.

“Thanks, I moisturise”, Fury joked. The Phoenix laughed along with him until she suddenly sobered up and shoved him against the side of the diner.

“You’re not Nick Fury. One: you look exactly like he did when I met him in the 90s. Two: he had a slight accident causing him to lose sight in his eye”, the Phoenix tightened her grip on the imposter “so _who_ are you!” she demanded.

In front of the Time Lady’s eyes, the man morphed into someone else. “I knew you were good but I couldn’t resist”, he said.

“Who are you?” the Phoenix repeated.

“I’m Loki”, the brunette answered making the Time Lady push her arm against his neck.

“Liar”, she accused “I’ve been to Asguard and met the _real_ Loki AND Thor so I know what they look like. And again I’ll ask you one more time before I start swinging. WHO are you?”

“Ok, ok as much as I’d love to see that, I’ll answer your question. I’m the archangel Gabriel”, he replied.

The Phoenix let him go, stepping back. “An angel”, she repeated “and I thought I’d seen everything in the last 800 or so years. So why did you say you were Loki? Wait, let me guess…you’re in hiding for some reason”.

Gabriel smirked at her “You really, really are good, aren’t you?” he remarked “yes, I am in hiding. I have been for some time”.

“Well, I won’t tell anyone, don’t you worry”, the Phoenix assured him “so, if you’ll excuse me I have doughnuts to eat and a ship to fix”. Gabriel watched her jump back up to the large doughnut and settle back down to eat her sweet treats before he left.

\---------------

The Time Lady wiped her brow as the tinkered away at the console. It had been a couple of weeks since the TARDIS had landed, to put it loosely, in the Savage Yard. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her ship. And she _knew_ her ship inside out. But this time something was really off with Her. “Come on, old girl. Talk to me”, she softly urged but she got no response.

“How are you doing?” Bobby called down through the open doors. The Time Lady could easily come and go with the ship still on its side, but unlike some, he couldn’t fly.

“Same as the last two weeks”, the Phoenix shouted up.

“Maybe you could do with a break”, Bobby suggested “besides, another one of those notes just turned up”. That had the Time Lady out of the box in a flash. The man place the note in her outstretched hand. The brunette sighed as she read it.

“Looks like I gotta help those boys out again”, she stated “I’d really love to know who’s leaving you notes in Gallifreyan cos I’ve never taught anyone our language and I can’t feel any of my people in my head…” she cleared her throat when her voice started to crack “anyway, I best be off. I got a Shapeshifter to stop”.

“Be careful Nix”, Bobby said “you may be a rather gifted individual in more ways than one but you’re by no means invincible. If you get in way over your head with them boys, you take off. I’d rather you put yourself first”.

“I’ll try”, the Phoenix promised. She changed into the bird and took off into the sky. Bobby watched her go, getting smaller and smaller.

“Man, I never tire of seeing that”, he remarked to himself.

\-------------------------

By the time the Phoenix got to the house in the note, she arrived to see Dean throw Sam into the bookshelf. Though she knew that it wasn’t Dean, per say but the Shapeshifter. There was a very distinct difference in smell. “Hey, ugly!” she called making the shifter turn to face her. He laughed at her weapon.

“That primitive weapon won’t kill me”, Shifter!Dean smirked “it’s not silver”.

“Wanna bet?” the Phoenix asked and shot the arrow, catching the creature square in the chest. Shifter!Dean looked down at it and pulled it out, looking at her smugly.

“Told you it wouldn’t kill me” he took a step towards her “and now…” he trailed off when a trickle of silver dribbled out of the wound. Shifter!Dean fell to the ground, dead.

“Thank you Miss Drake”, Sam said, slowly approaching her “I’m…”

“I know who you are, Sam Winchester”, the Phoenix interrupted, putting her weapon away in her pocket, utterly astounding the human. She then picked up the arrow, putting that away as well. “You and your brother better be more careful in future cos I won’t always be around to save your ass”, she added.

“Well, maybe we could have your number?” Sam suggested “that way we could get in touch…”

“Yeah…no I don’t think so”, the Phoenix said. Dean then suddenly burst through the front door, gun out only to see that the threat had been stopped.

“Oh, it’s you”, he said, putting his weapon away.

“That’s a nice way to say thank you for saving the day”, the brunette remarked “anyway, if I were both of you, I’d make yourselves scarce pronto. Especially you Dean since Shifter dude here is wearing your face. Now if you’ll excuse me” she moved past Dean and Rebecca “Look after yourself Rebecca”, she added quietly to the woman.

The young woman looked to the brothers “how did she know my name?”

“I don’t know”, Dean replied and rushed after the Phoenix. By the time he got out however, she was gone. “Damn it!” he cursed “who is this chick?”

On the roof of a nearby house, the Time Lady watched him go back inside. “I’m the chick who’s wondering why she’s even helping you and your brother”, she murmured. She then changed into her bird form and flew away. 

\----------------

The Phoenix walked along the corridor, the SHIELD logo hat pulled down over her face. When she finally got her ship up and running, she received a message from Fury, the real one not the archangel who pretended to be him. She still didn’t have a clue as to why Gabriel sought her out disguised as her friend…actually she had no idea why he sought her out full stop. She supposed that if and when he decided to show up again, she could ask him.

“Hero”, she said to the elderly man who was pouring over a crossword puzzle “a four lettered word associated with legend”.

“Thank you miss”, he said, scribbling the answer down.

“You’re welcome, Agent Lee”, the Phoenix said. The Time Lady then wandered into Fury’s office, Goose greeting her as she entered. “Hey, little lady. I’ve missed you too”, she said, bending down to scratch the Flerken behind the ears. The Phoenix sat down at the desk, propping her feet up on it. Goose jumped up onto her lap and got comfy.

It wasn’t long before Fury walked into his office, rubbing his face tiredly. He had been trying to get the SHIELD higher ups to take interest in his Avengers Initiative but they didn't want to know.

He stopped when her saw the Phoenix at his desk "Hey Nick", she greeted "miss me?"

"I called you weeks ago", Fury said tapping her feet, signalling that he wanted then off the desk.

"Sorry, I was a little preoccupied helping a friend out of a situation AND my ship had thrown a bit of a wobbly but never mind that", the Time Lady said "I'm here now, so what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, for starters you shouldn't have been able to get in here", Fury said "but I can guess how, psychic paper".

"I said that I couldn't make any promises", the Phoenix reminded him "so what is the real reason you wanted me here?"

"Goose coughed up the Tesseract", Fury answered "and I'd like it if you could take her off my hands".

"Still not trusting her?" The Time Lady questioned, getting up from the desk and going over to where Goose was now chilling out, having been bored with watching her play Solitaire on Fury’s computer.

"I can tell you now, that is the last time I trust anyone", Fury said.

"Oh, don’t be silly. Just cos Goose took your eye doesn't mean you can't trust anyone ever again", the Phoenix said, picking up the Flerken "you'll have to eventually" she made her way over to the door "and speaking of trust. I'm trusting YOU to keep the Tesseract safe. If I find out that you've let it get taken, the will be hell to pay". The Time Lady opened the door and walked out of his office. Fury headed to his desk and sat down. No sooner had he powered up his computer when the office door opened again. The Phoenix stuck her head in "Oh, your Avengers thing sounds promising. I wish you luck with it. and good choice of name for me by the way: Firebird. I like it". She gave him one last smile before pulling the door shut.

\---------

The Phoenix grinned as she watched Goose wander around the console room taking it all in. It was so long since that she’d had a companion on her ship and she’d missed the wonder and amazement on their face. Even if it was a Flerken’s one. “So! Where would you like to go first?” she asked “I can take you to the moon or how about just setting it for random?”

Goose meowed and she laughed “ok, random it is”, she said. The Flerken hopped up on to the jump seat and watched her pilot the ship through the time vortex.

Meanwhile on an island somewhere, a very drunk Captain Jack Sparrow stumbled across the sand, a bottle of rum hanging loosely in his hand. He was too oblivious in his drunken stupor that he didn’t see a statue appear. That is…until he walked into it. “A statue…” he slurred, rubbing his forehead “Ah!” he screamed, running away when the statue suddenly opened and the Phoenix poked her head out.

“You can come out, I don’t bite”, she called, easily spotting Jack as he was hiding very badly behind a palm tree. Jack steeped out and eyed her warily.

“This haass got sho be the rum”, he said “not real”.

“I assure you I’m very real”, the Phoenix said “and I’m guessing you’re in a spot of bother”.

“Nooo I am pwerfectly fine”, Jack hiccupped, taking a swig of drink “my ship hash sailed off and Imma shtuck here. But I have rum!” he waved the bottle in the air “rum is good”.

“Uh huh”, The Phoenix said watching him walk away, barely able to go in a straight line “I guess I’ll be off then”.

“No! No, no, no”, Jack shouted running back to her, face planting on the sand in the process. He sat up, spluttering the stuff out of his mouth. “Do not leave me here!”

“Ok”, the Phoenix said and disappeared back inside the statue/ TARDIS. Jack slowly followed her, veering off course several times.

His mouth dropped open when he eventually entered the ship. He glanced down at the bottle in his hands “I’m really drunk”, he stated chalking up to what he was seeing as a figment of his imagination.

“You are drunk but this isn’t you imagination”, the Phoenix said “this is my ship and yes it is bigger on the inside”. She took her sonic out of her pocket and started to use it on part of the console that was giving her problems when she heard a thump. The Time Lady peered around the console to see Jack passed out on the carpet. Goose was sat by him, pawing the pirate. “Oh, no you don’t”, the brunette said hurrying over to the Flerken and scooping her up “no eating the pirate”, she scolded. The Phoenix took Goose off to somewhere safe, the Simulation Room.

She went back to the console room to finish her work. Once she was done, she began to search using the scanner for a good place to drop off her new friend. “Tortuga. Looks promising”, the Phoenix murmured. She hauled the now snoring man onto her chair before carefully piloting the TARDIS to the pirate port. When the ship landed with a thump, the Time Lady went over to Jack, taking out a bottle of cold water from her jacket pocket “Sorry about this girl”, she whispered before pouring it over his head.

Jack woke with a start, yelling at how cold the water was. He blinked up at her “You are real”, he stated, disappointed that he was sober.

“I told you I was”, the Phoenix said “Nyx Drake”, she offered holding her hand out.

“Captain Jack Sparrow”, he said shaking her hand. He glanced behind her “it IS bigger on the inside!” he exclaimed “is it magic?”

“Of a sort”, the Phoenix replied “I’ve brought you to Tortuga”. That had Jack jumping to his feet.

“Where’s the door?” Jack asked. The Time Lady pointed to the double doors and the pirate dashed over to it, jumping down the steps as he did so. He pulled open the doors to be met with the sights, sounds and smells associated with Tortuga. “How…how is this possible?” he questioned stepping out of the TARDIS.

“That was my ship. She’s called the TARDIS”, The Phoenix answered, leaning against it.

Jack frowned at the shed “but it was a statue!”

“She can disguise herself to blend into the environment”, the Time Lady explained “I won’t go into the details. All that matters is that you’re not marooned anymore”.

“I’m without rum”, Jack pointed out, glumly. The Phoenix reached into her pocket and took out a small leather bag.

“Here” she tossed it to Jack “that should be enough for a few days’ worth of rum”. She also pulled a glass bottle with a piece of paper inside and chucked it to him which he barely managed to catch. “That’ll allow you to get in contact with me if you’re ever in trouble again. All you have to do is say my name, think of a short message and it’ll come to me. But you do have to keep that on your person for it to work”, the Phoenix explained.

“How am I supposed to keep it on me?” Jack asked “it’s pretty big”.

“Is it?” the Phoenix countered, looking pointedly at it.

“Wha?” Jack said as the bottle started to shrink in his hands until it was very small.

“Magic”, The Time Lady offered, knowing that the full explanation would go over his head “and speaking of, it’s probably not the best idea to tell people this was how you escaped the island”.

“What would you suggest then?” Jack queried.

The Phoenix smiled “Sea Turtles mate”, she replied.


	4. Chapter 4

“I seriously hate you right now!” the Phoenix said to River after they both took cover behind the bar. Their evening and the fancy event was going well that is until the owner of the event took issue with her friend being present. His way of showing said upset? Having his guards shoot them. Luckily they had this bar to dive behind.

“No you don’t”, River restored, seeming way too happy for someone is currently being shot at. The Phoenix tried to take a look but was forced to duck down to avoid an early regeneration.

“We’re bloody trapped”, she growled causing River to stare at her.

“Are you kidding me?” she demanded “you’re the _Phoenix_ , the most bad ass woman I know”.

“Times change”, the Phoenix said “so do people”.

“Look, I’m aware of what happened to you during the Time War and how it has taken its toll”, River said softly, making the brunette stiffen “I’m not asking you to kill…just give them a little nap. Its past their bedtime after all”. The Time Lady snorted and the curly haired woman grinned, knowing she made her feel better.

“Stay here”, she said to River “I’ll put these children to bed”.

“With pleasure”, River said and watched her leap over the bar to deal with the men shooting at them. She peered over the top, grinning as her friend took the out one at a time throwing in the occasional amusing one liners. “That’s my girl”, she murmured, heart swelling with pride.

“Now let this be a lesson to you kids. Don’t stay up late and never play with guns”, the Phoenix mock scolded the men who were either unconscious or groaning in pain. She and River then made a quick exit.

When they got to the TARDIS, the Phoenix wasted no time leaving the place. “You know, the next time you say ‘lets dress up nice…go to a fancy shindig…have a few laughs…’ River chuckled “yeah, laugh it up River cos this is the last time that I’m _ever_ doing that again”.

“You say that but I know you Nix, this wont be the last time”, River said knowingly.

“Sometimes I really don’t like it that your timeline and mine are so wibbly wobbly”, the Phoenix grumbled “not running the same way”.

“I know but that’s the way it has to be”, River sighed “nothing can be changed, not a single moment”.

“Don’t you wish it could?” the Phoenix asked.

“All the time”, River admitted “but this is just the way it has to be” she then smiled “doesn’t mean that I cant have a little fun along the way” she nudged the Time Lady with her elbow “occasionally with the Time Lady I’d consider to be my best friend”. That got a smile from the Phoenix.

“Now, where would you like me to take you?” the Time Lady asked.

“Oh, anywhere will do”, River replied “I can make it to where I need to go from there”.

“Alright, I’ll set the controls to random”, the brunette said and did just that.

\-----------

When the Phoenix stepped out of the TARDIS after she landed, she frowned. There was something not quite right. River exited the ship and the device on her wrist bleeped. “Oh, looks like I’m heading off”, she stated “thanks again for the fun time”.

“You’re welcome”, the Time Lady said rather distractedly, looking up at the sky “River I don’t think you should go. Something isn’t quite right here. It feels off” when she didn’t get a response, she asked “River?”

The brunette sighed seeing that she’d gone. “Looks like its just you and me Goose”, she muttered, turning to the Flerken who was standing in the doorway of her TARDIS. Her eyes widened when her furry friend was no longer there! In fact the entire of the interior of her ship was gone. “Oh no…” she breathed “no. no. no!” the Phoenix frantically felt around, seriously hoping that she was just imagining it but the inside really was gone. “My ship…Goose”, she whispered “this is so much worse”. The brunette stumbled back, utterly shocked.

“Monsters!” a young voice shouted breaking her out of her shock. The Phoenix wheeled around to see a little boy running toward her. She was quick to intercept him.

“What monsters?” she softly asked.

“Big scary monsters!” the boy cried “they took my friends!”

“It’s going to ok”, the Phoenix assured him “those monsters won’t get you, do you know why?” the boy shook his head “cos I make the monsters run away” she gave him a smile to which the boy responded with a small smile of his own “I’m Nix. What’s your name?”

“Mickey”, the child replied “Mickey Smith”.

“Well, Mickey Smith do you have somewhere safe you can go?” the Phoenix answered.

“Y-yes. St Pauls Church”, Mickey answered.

“Alright, lets get you there”, the Phoenix said “where is it?”

Mickey told her where it is and the Time Lady picked him up, hurrying toward the destination that the boy wanted to go. When she got to the church where dozens of wedding guests as well as the bride and groom were milling outside, she tried to put the boy down to usher him over to the people…but he wasn’t having any of it. Mickey just clung tightly onto her hand. He was just too scared. “please don’t let me go”, he pleaded.

“Ok, I won’t”, the Phoenix assured him. With the boy holding onto her hand she approached the guests. As she drew closer, she paused as she felt a faint presence in her mind. It was one of her people! She wasn’t the last!

“Nix?” Mickey called, tugging her hand “what’s wrong?”

The Phoenix didn’t answer him, she just pulled her hand away and slowly walked towards the street. Her hearts began to race as she watched a man in a leather jacket quickly approach her, the presence in her mind growing stronger.

The Doctor stopped a foot away from the Time Lady, staring at her eyes wide. He couldn’t believe that someone else survived the War. He moved towards her in a daze, his breath hitching when he saw the necklace around the brunette’s neck. He knew that necklace anywhere, it belonged to the Phoenix. “Phoenix?” he whispered “is that you?”

The Phoenix frowned “you know me?” she asked. The Doctor nodded and pointed to her necklace.

“Your brother gave you that for your birthday”, he said “I had to hide it for him because...”

“He was always bad at hiding things”, the Phoenix finished “my god…” she stepped toward him “Doctor… its you…” she went to hug him when all of a sudden a Reaper appeared! The Phoenix threw a blast of phoenix fire at it the creature as she ran toward the humans. “Doctor get them in the church!” she shouted as she attacked the Reaper with another lot of phoenix fire “I’ll hold this thing off!”

“You heard her!” the Doctor said to the humans as he practically shoved them inside the church, not wanting his best friend to be dealing with the Reaper any longer than she had to. He’d only just got her back!

“Who is that Doctor?” Rose asked as she pushed her toward the others.

“My best friend”, the Time Lord replied, turning back to the Time Lady. The Phoenix had now created a wall of fire to keep the Reaper at bay but she seemed to be struggling. “Phoenix they’re safe”, he said “get inside”. When she didn’t move, he darted forward and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into the church, slamming the door shut. “You ok?” he asked her softly.

“Yeah”, the Phoenix replied “what I’d like to know is why this is happening? Did you do something to screw up time?”

“Not intentionally”, the Doctor admitted “I was trying to do a good thing for my companion” he nodded over to Rose “but she saved her father…” he gestured to Pete.

The Phoenix sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose “oh Doctor, you know how to pick ‘em don’t you?” she muttered.

“Yeah I do”, the Doctor mumbled.

“You know what has to happen, don’t you”, the brunette stated and then lowered her voice “Pete doesn’t die the way he supposed to…this world is going to be destroyed. We lost our home, I wont let the humans lose theirs”.

“Hey what are you doing?!” Rose exclaimed as the Phoenix grabbed Pete’s arm, pulling him to the door.

“Fixing your mistake”, the brunette snapped “how was he supposed to die?” she demanded.

“He wasn’t”, Rose insisted “now please let him go”.

“Can’t”, the Phoenix replied “I’m not damning these innocent people because you had to be a selfish child!”

“He was hit by a car”, the Doctor spoke up, quietly, shocking Rose “he had that vase in his hands” he pointed to the ugly ceramic on the pew.

The young woman ran forward, latching her hands on the Time Lady’s arm as she stepped toward the vase. “You can’t do this!” she said, angrily “I won’t let you”.

“Doctor, get your companion under control before I’ll do something I’ll regret”, the Phoenix said, very calmly.

“You have no heart!” Rose spat in her face and the Doctor pulled her away from the Phoenix “let go of me!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that”, the Time Lord said. The blonde wriggled in his arms watching hopelessly as the Phoenix took her father to his death.

Outside the church, the Time Lady stopped and turned to Pete. “Look, Pete I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t a difficult decision for me. In fact its one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. If there was another way I…” she trailed off, letting out a shaky breath.

Pete could see how much this was tearing her up to send him to his death even if Rose had told the Phoenix that she had no heart. “I understand. I just have to know, my wife and daughter…will they be ok? Will they have a good life?”

“Yeah they do”, a tear rolled down the Time Lady’s face “your wife will tell your daughter how much you loved them; how you were the bravest and most wonderful man in the world. You were an amazing father and an incredible husband” the Phoenix was crying harder now “and I’m so, so sorry that I have to get you to do this”.

“Hey”, Pete said gently, placing a hand on her cheek “its not your fault. This was the way it was supposed to be” the Phoenix tearfully nodded “just do me a favour? Check in on my family every once in a while”.

“I will”, the Phoenix promised. She watched him walk out into the road with the vase and get hit by the car. The brunette fell to the ground, sobbing her hearts out. The Doctor ran out of the church, dropping down beside his best friend and hugged her tightly as she cried. Rose rushed past them to hold her father’s hands in his last moments before he died.

Once he passed, Rose rounded on the crying Time Lady. “You don’t get to mourn him”, she snapped “you killed him!”

“Rose…” the Doctor started.

“No, she doesn’t get to sit there all weepy over something that she’d done”, Rose retorted. The Phoenix sniffled as she stood up, bringing the Doctor with her.

“I wouldn’t have had to have done that if _you_ hadn’t saved your father in the first place”, the brunette argued.

“But he didn’t need to die!”

“Yes, he did. Those creatures were here because of what you did”, the Phoenix said, feeling her anger rising but she shoved it to the side “Pete may not have been the most important person in the world but him being alive even for a few moments put this entire world in danger. I did what I had to do”.

Rose turned to the Doctor “you call this your best friend?” she demanded “she’s…she’s”

“Be very careful what you say next”, the Time Lord said warningly “cos I really will leave you here”.

“Don’t do that”, the Phoenix said quietly “you need someone, especially with anything we’ve been through”.

“I have you”, the Doctor said “you’re all I need”.

“Oh Doctor” the Phoenix sighed, placing a hand on his face “you will always have me. That’ll never change. But I have my own ship and someone depending on me”.

“Oh…” the Doctor breathed “I didn’t know that you’re…”

“Oh no! Not like that!” the Phoenix said quickly with a laugh, realising where his mind had jumped to “Her name is Goose and she’s a Flerken”.

“Ah, gotcha”, the Doctor said also with a laugh, feeling somewhat relieved that she didn’t have a kid waiting for her.

“Well, I better get going”, the Phoenix hugged him “I’m really glad that you made it out of the war”.

“Me too”, the Doctor said, holding her tightly “will I see you again?”

“You can count on it”, the Time Lady promised. The Time Lord watched her leave, fighting the urge to run after her and beg her to stay with him. He knew he couldn’t do that. It would mean giving up her TARDIS and she’d never do that, not for anything.

“Doctor, how could you just stand by and let her kill my father!” Rose shouted “and why did you stop me from stopping her?”

“Rose, she didn’t want to hurt you”, the Doctor replied.

“Well, she did!”

“Psychically hurt you”, the Doctor amended “the Phoenix would never have forgiven herself if that happened. You have to understand, she, like me was in the war too. But what I went through…experienced…it was 1,000 times worse for her. The Phoenix has quite literally been through hell and trust me when I say, her showing restraint towards you is a good thing. When we see her again, you need to behave better cos if you meet her on a bad day, you’ll know the meaning of Fury of a Time Lady”.


	5. Chapter 5

The Phoenix stopped at the overpass and a smile appeared on her face when she took in the ruins. “She’s beautiful”, she breathed “I never get tired of seeing things like this” a sound of helicopter made her glance upwards “really? You had to come here!” she threw her arms up, exasperated.

“Bloody tourists”, a familiar voice spoke up behind her, startling the brunette.

“Raven!” she wheeled around, playfully glaring at the grinning assassin “you scared the life out of me!”

“Sorry”, the white haired woman said, moving to her side, eyeing the mercenaries “Are we going to kill them?”

“What? No!” the Phoenix exclaimed, barely managing to keep a quiet tone as she didn’t want the humans to find out they were there.

Raven pouted “you’re no fun”, she grumbled.

“You can wound and maim but no killing”, the Time Lady amended making the assassin grin.

“The first to 10 bad guys maimed wins!” Raven proclaimed, shifting into her raven form and flying away. The Phoenix on the other hand opted to stay on foot. She slid down the slope, deflecting bullets with her phoenix fire. A swift kick and a well-aimed punch took down two men. “I’m on 6! You better hurry up!” Raven shouted, sticking her head out of her black hole in the sky.

“That’s cos you’re enjoying yourself too much”, the Phoenix muttered. She used to be a little more like Raven, not the killing part. The enjoying of beating the crap out of bad people. The war changed things. Now, she despised violence, killing even more so. She continued on her way, taking out the bad guys as she went. By the time she reached the bottom of the temple steps, Raven was just coming around the corner. The pair had to duck of out the way to avoid being shot at by the men on the steps.

The two of them moved out from behind the rocks and chased the humans up the stairs only to stop when they were killed by a trap. “Death by irony”, Raven sniggered causing the Phoenix to hit her on the arm “Oh come on, that was a little funny”.

“Ok, just a little”, the Time Lady conceded “damn amateurs”.

“Well, this has been fun but I gotta go”, Raven said “its way past Fenrir’s feeding time”.

“Give him my regards”, the Phoenix said, trying not to make a face as she recalled Raven’s pet werewolf. The last time she’d seen that monstrous canine…well…let’s just say she’d rather not visit during feeding time. That’s something she never ever wanted to see again.

“Will do!” Raven said and created a black hole, disappearing through it.

“Still don’t know how I’m friends with that her”, the Phoenix murmured as she made her way up the stairs. No sooner had so gone down the other side, the floor opened up! The Time Lady sprinted as along the passage, jumping towards the wall and grabbing hold of part of the stone that was sticking out. She eyed the spikes below. _Yeah I don’t wanna become a shish kabob_ she thought, turning her gaze to the other side. She was going to have to be quick at this. The Phoenix kicked off from the wall, shifting as fast as she could into her bird form and flew to safety.

“Let’s hope its relatively smooth sailing from here”, she said to herself. The Phoenix traversed one room after another, luckily not coming across any more traps. However, as she approached another set of steps, she heard loud voices.

“Alright Mr Harkness, hand over the artefact”, a gruff male voice said.

“I will after I get the money”, Jack countered. The Phoenix slowly ascended the stairs, crouching at the top and watched the interaction. The American was surrounded by the eight men wearing the same uniforms as the ones she and Raven had taken out. There was another man, dressed slightly differently and was holding his hand out. This had to be the leader.

“There’s been a change of plans”, boss man said “Kill him”, he ordered his men.

“Oh, I don’t think so”, the Phoenix said and darted out “get down!” she shouted to Jack, who quickly ducked just in time to be avoid getting hit by phoenix fire. She ran over to him, grabbing his hand. “Run!” she cried.

“After them!” boss man ordered as the pair escaped through the opposite door way.

“Man, I am so glad to see you”, Jack remarked as they pelted through the passage ways.

“Not the time Jack”, the Phoenix said.

“Oh, come on” Jack stopped running, making the Time Lady stop “no time like the present” he looked her over “loving this new you”.

The Phoenix blushed “stop it”, she said sternly, trying to will the redness away from her face.

“Never”, Jack said, reaching up to place a hand on her cheek “I’ve missed you”, he added softly.

“Jack I…” the Time Lady, trailed off, eyes widening when she saw the boss man approach with what was left of his men. Without thinking, the Phoenix shoved Jack away just as the human fired, taking the shot meant for the man she cared about.

“Nix!” Jack cried, whipping out his blaster and shooting it at the ceiling. Stone fell down, effectively blocking them off from their enemies. “Nix”, he repeated again, taking her in his arms, a shaking hand covering her wound “its gonna be fine”.

“I know”, the Time Lady groaned “t-this is nothing. I’ve had…” she groaned again “much worse”.

Jack, shifted his hold on her and stood up. “Just hold on, Nix”, he murmured “I got you”. He continued on his way. The Phoenix tried to keep from passing out but alas…that’s exactly what she did.

When she came to, she found herself lying next to a river bank, soaking wet. Jack was kneeling beside her, tending to her wound. “Jack, why are we wet?” she asked.

“I uh…jumped off a cliff”, he replied, somewhat sheepishly “sorry”.

“Don’t be”, the Phoenix winced as she sat up “I’m only sorry that I was unconscious. Always wanted to do a swan dive off a cliff”.

“I’m sure you’ll get your chance”, Jack said optimistically.

“Probably. Now what exactly did that boss man want from you?” the brunette questioned.

“This”, Jack replied and showed her a fragment of a tablet “it was supposed to tell you the secrets of immortality”. The Phoenix took it from him and laughed, wincing as she did so.

“Oh, Jack you should’ve let them have this”, she said. 

“Why?”

“Cos theres no secrets to immortality on here. Unless becoming immortal requires you to consume a very nice soup”, the Phoenix giggled. Jack burst out laughing too.

“So this was a fake, huh?” he commented, taking it from her with a chuckle “guess this isn’t worth very much”.

“Doubtful”, the Phoenix “unless you want to become a culinary expert on a several thousand years old soup”.

“I’ll pass thanks”, Jack said, dumping the tablet in the river. They watched it float away.

“So, what now?” the Time Lady asked.

“How about a proper hello?” Jack suggested.

“Ok, he-mph!” the Phoenix was cut off when the man kissed her.

“Hello”, he said softly.

“Hi”, the Phoenix breathed, rather taken aback by his greeting. It had been so long since they’d done that.

“I really have missed you”, Jack murmured, resting his forehead against hers.

“I’ve missed you too”, the Phoenix said back “but we can’t start anything up again. I…can’t”. She moved away from him a little, pulling her legs to her chest being mindful of her injury. “It wouldn’t last. Sooner or later I’d lose you too and I…I’ve lost so much, our child…my home…my people…except my best friend…” Jack shifted closer, carefully hugging her when she started to cry.

“Nix, I’m so sorry”, he said quietly. He had no idea what she’d been through the last time he’d seen her. Correction, the time prior to that short time in the café where he hadn’t realised it was her until too late. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to”.

“There was a war. The Time War”, the Phoenix took a shaky breath “it wasn’t going well. The High Council they…they…” her hands clenched together tightly “they captured me from where I’d been fighting in the front lines. They tried to force me to use my powers to do what they call the Final Sanction. But I refused to do it even after they tortured me, I still wouldn’t. Eventually I managed to escape and flee Gallifrey in my TARDIS. Unfortunately my injuries were so bad that I had to regenerate” fresh tears ran down her face “I should’ve stayed! So many children died because I was too cowardly to stay and fight!”

“Nix, you’re not a coward”, Jack assured her “you were quite literally put through hell. You did the right thing by putting yourself first”.

“Doesn’t feel like it”, the Phoenix mumbled “I failed those kids and just like I failed our baby”. 

“Hey, that’s not on you”, Jack said sternly “there was a problem with the birth”.

“Just as well”, the Phoenix said “it was simply not meant to be”. Jack rubbed her back as she sobbed.

“What can I do?” he asked.

“Just hold me”, the Phoenix mumbled “please”.

“That I can do”, the American said, doing just that. While they sat there, a black hole appeared and Raven stepped out wiping her hands together.

“Well, Fenrir is all fed and rested. How is…” she trailed off when she saw Jack holding the Phoenix “is everything ok?”

“No, its not”, he replied “not be a long shot”.

The assassin got down to their level, looking at the crying Time Lady “do I need to kill someone?” she questioned. Then she noticed the Phoenix’s wound “who did that?” she demanded “and where can I find them?” 

“They’re still by the ruins as far as I know”, Jack answered.

“Thanks. I’ll be back soon”, Raven said, standing up. She created another black hole and stepped through it.

“I want Harkness and that woman found now!” boss man ordered the remainder of his men “I want them dead!”

“That’s not going to happen”, a female voice spoke up behind him. The man turned to see a white haired woman standing there, arms folded. “You hurt my friend so now I'm going to hurt you" she stepped closer, eyes flashing dangerously "and I by hurt, I mean I will give you a slow agonising death" Raven created a black hole beneath his feet and he fell through with a scream "and now you lot...my pet needs some new chew toys". Each of them dropped into the black hole that she made underneath them. Raven jumped through it also. "Let the fun begin", she grinned.

\-------------

“You’ve redecorated”, Jack remarked, taking in the TARDIS.

“I’m still getting used to it”, the Phoenix, wandering around the console, trailing a hand over the controls.

“Did you want me to come with you for a bit?” Jack offered, not particularly wanting to leave her on her own in the state she was in. The Time Lady shook her head.

“Thanks for the offer but I’ll be fine”, she replied “I’ve got a little furry friend to keep me company” she glanced around “she’s off wandering somewhere”.

Jack moved closer to her, settling a hand on her hip “you sure I can’t persuade you to let me stay?” he asked.

“Very sure”, the Phoenix replied.

“Not even if I do this?” Jack pressed his lips against hers. Without breaking the kiss, he guided her backwards to the console, lifting her up to perch on the edge. “Does that persuade you?” he questioned, pulling away with a smile.

“Under any other circumstances, I’d say yes…” the Phoenix replied “but I…”

“I understand”, Jack said “if you ever need me, I’ll be there. No matter where in time and space you are, I will come”.

“Thank you”, the Phoenix whispered. Jack hugged her one last time before he left the ship. The Time Lady sagged against the console, suddenly feeling like there was an enormous weight pressing against her shoulders. The scanner suddenly bleeped, making her go around the console to look at the screen. Her eyes widened. “Oh my god”, she breathed. There was a very large increase of activity around the rift on Earth to the point of becoming extremely dangerous. The Phoenix piloted the TARDIS as quickly as she could to where it was.

The second the ship appeared, the brunette was out of the door. She arrived at the house that was on top of the rift in time to see Charles Dickens of all people run out. Before she could ask him what he’d seen, a Gelth swooped out of the house and into the nearest gas lit street lamp. “Gas…Gas!” Charles exclaimed in realisation.

“Whoa! Where do you think you’re going, Charlie boy?” the Phoenix asked him, grabbing his arm and stopping him from running back inside “those things are very dangerous”.

“I know but I must help them!” the author insisted “they’ll die otherwise”.

“Them who?” the Phoenix pressed.

“The Doctor and his friend, Rose”, Charles answered.

The Time Lady’s eyes widened “you stay here. I’ll go”, she said in a tone that told the man not to argue. She then ran into the house, turning off the flames in the lamps as quickly as she could and releasing the gas into the air.

The Phoenix hurried down the steps into the morgue. “Phoenix!” the Doctor exclaimed, happy to see her.

“Oh great”, Rose griped, none too pleased that she was there.

“We need to turn up the gas!” the Time Lady told them, turning another flame out “it’ll draw them out of the hosts!”

“Brilliant!” the Doctor cheered, but his happiness was squashed when the corpses decided to go after the Phoenix instead of himself and Rose. The Time Lady backed up, putting her hands out. She knew she shouldn’t used her powers with the room being filled with gas otherwise the whole place would explode.

“A little help!” she called, kicking one of the dead people away. The Phoenix yelped when another of them grabbed her wrist. Thinking quickly, the Doctor ripped a gas pipe from the wall next to him. The Gelth screamed as they left the dead bodies. The Time Lady shoved away the one who’d grabbed her wrist.

The Doctor and Rose hurried out where they’d been trapped, going over to Gwyneth. “Gwyneth, send them back. They lied. They're not angels”, the Time Lord told her.

“Liars?” the maid repeated.

“Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!” the Doctor urged her.

“I can't breathe”, Rose gasped, doubling over.

“Doctor, get her out of here”, the Phoenix ordered “I’ll help her”, she nodded at Gwyneth.

“Please be careful”, the Doctor said, touching her arm.

“I will. Now go before she passes out”, the Phoenix said. The Time Lord took hold of Rose and led her out of the room.

“You must go too, Firebird”, Gwyneth said softly “there’s still so much you have to do”.

“I’m not leaving you”, the Phoenix said firmly “you’ve still got plenty to do yourself”.

The maid smiled at her, sadly “I wish that were true but my time is over”, she said quietly.

“No its not”, the brunette said, moving closer to her. _Ok, I’ve only got one shot at this. Mess up and Gwyneth dies_ she thought _no pressure_. The Phoenix, unleashed a blast of phoenix fire and then quickly wrapped her arms around the young woman, a pair of wings made completely of fire seeming to burst forth from her back. They curled themselves around the pair, cocooning them in a protective shell as the gas ignited.

Outside the house, the Doctor watched horrified as the place exploded! “Phoenix”, he breathed, dropping to his knees, hearts breaking at the loss of his best friend.

“Doctor, look!” Charles exclaimed, pointing at the flames.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Rose complained as the Phoenix stepped through the fire, carrying Gwyneth in her arms “that’s not fair!”

“She’s ok”, the Time Lady assured the Doctor as he rushed over to them “just unconscious”.

“You really are incredible Phoenix”, Charles remarked, taking Gwyneth from her. The Doctor had very briefly explained that the lady was his best friend and someone who had an amazing gift.

“She sure is”, the Doctor said, wiping a bit of soot from the Time Lady’s cheek “I thought I’d lost you”, he added in quiet voice.

“You forget that I’m the Phoenix. If there’s one thing I can withstand better then most, its fire”, the Time Lady reminded him.

“Good point”, the Doctor agreed. He’d completely forgotten that fact in his worry over his best friend’s wellbeing.

The Phoenix wiped her face, wrinkling her nose at the soot on her hands. “Boy I need a shower, or 60”, she muttered.

“I suppose that means you’ll be off then”, the Doctor stated.

“Yeah, it does”, the Phoenix agreed “but we’ll see each other seen enough”. She started to walk off when the Time Lord grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a hug.

“Look after yourself”, he said.

“Don’t worry, I will”, the brunette promised “as long as you try to stay out of trouble mister”, she gave him a playful glare.

“Phoenix, you know me, I don’t go looking for trouble”, the Doctor said and she laughed.

“You totally go looking for trouble! I’ve lost count the number of times I had to save you cos you’ve gotten yourself in one pickle or another”, the Phoenix said.

“If I recall, you’ve gotten yourself in plenty of trouble without my help”, the Doctor countered.

“Blame Raven, I love her but she’s a bad influence sometimes”, the Phoenix retorted with a smile.

The Time Lord raised a brow “You two are as bad as each other”, he argued “correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t you the one who got her that little Compy, Snapper as a birthday present?”

The Phoenix rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly “yeah, in hindsight that wasn’t a good idea”, she admitted.

“You got that right”, the Doctor chuckled.

“Anyway, I best get cleaned up”, the Phoenix said, changing the subject “Charlie is was an honour to meet you, love your books. Gwyneth should have a speedy recovery but I’ll check in on you both from time to time” she turned to Rose “and you…just…behave”.

Rose opened her moth to argue back when the Time Lady just turned and walked away. The blonde huffed, annoyed. She really didn’t like her!


	6. Chapter 6

The Phoenix stuck her head out of the TARDIS, eyeing the room beyond. “Looks like some sort of museum Goose”, she said to the Flerken who meowed in agreement. They exited the ship, the Time Lady pulling the door closed. The brunette made a face when she saw the stuffed Slitheen arm behind a glass case. “Ok, that’s gross”, she muttered. Then she noticed the TARDIS. “Seems like the Doctor is here, probably got himself into trouble no doubt”, the Phoenix stated to her furry companion. She walked up to the case with the Slitheen arm in it and smashed the glass causing the alarms to blare.

Goose meowed at her “Yes, I know that wasn’t a good idea but it’s the quickest way to find the Doctor”, the Phoenix said, waiting for the security to arrive. It was about a couple of minutes later, when they turned up and surrounded the pair, pointing their weapons at them. “Finally”, she said, raising her “this response time is pitiful. If I was your boss, I’d fire your asses. Now take me to your leader”.

The Flerken grumbled at the Time Lady as they were taken to the boss man’s office. “What?” the Phoenix asked, looking down at her “I’ve always wanted to say that”.

“Now, who is this?” Van Statten questioned as she was escorted into the room.

“I’m the woman who’s disappointed by your men’s response time”, the Phoenix replied “the second those alarms go off, they should be running like a penguin with its ass on fire” the Doctor snorted at her words and she grinned at him “hey, Doctor”, she greeted “how’s things been?”

“Oh, you know, same old”, the Time Lord answered “what about you?”

“Well, I met Casanova”, the Phoenix replied “he tried to ‘woo’ me but I challenged him to a duel”.

“Tell me you won”, the Doctor said.

“But of course”, the Time Lady said in a duh tone “I kicked his ass…with a spork”. The Time Lord loudly laughed.

“That’s my best friend”, he said proudly. 

Van Statten cleared his throat, gaining the Phoenix’s attention. “What is your name?” he demanded.

“Lara Croft”, the Time Lady responded “et tu Monsieur le boss man?” she asked in a french accent and the Doctor sniggered. Rose just stood there, mildly annoyed. How could the Phoenix stand there making jokes? It was hardly the time for that!

“Henry Van Statten”, the American answered “I own this place and the internet”.

The Phoenix burst out laughing “don’t be absurd, no one owns the internet least of all a stupid human who gets his kicks with his alien museum”, she giggled “at least no human owns it”.

“Don’t tell me _you_ own the internet”, Rose scoffed.

“Course not but a close personal friend of mine is”, the Phoenix told her “Now my ship detected an SOS from this…museum. I’m guessing it wasn’t you so you’ve got something imprisoned here that need help” she walked over to Van Statten’s desk, placing her hands on it and leaning toward him “now take us to it”.

“I wouldn’t argue with her”, the Doctor said when Van Statten glanced at him “she can be scary”, he mock whispered and the Phoenix shot him a grin.

The American sighed “Fine” he stood up and addressed the curly haired ginger in the room “Goddard, inform the Cage we're heading down” he pointed at Adam “You, English. Look after the girl. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name and Miss Croft, come and see my pet”.

“Goose, you keep an eye on Rose”, the Phoenix lightly ordered the Flerken “don’t even think about eating her no matter how annoying she becomes”. Goose meowed causing the Time Lady to point at her “no buts missy. Do. Not. Eat. The. Child”, she said in a warning tone. She then stepped into the lift next to the Doctor and the doors closed.

\---------------

“We've tried everything”, Van Statten stated stopping outside the heavy door of the Cage “The creature has shielded itself but there's definite signs of life inside”. He turned, entered a code in the panel next to the door and it slid open.

“Inside?” the Doctor frowned “Inside what?”

“Welcome back, sir”, Simmons said stepping out, wearing a protective suit “I've had to take the power down. The Metaltron is resting”.

The Phoenix snorted “Metaltron? Seriously? You made that up”.

“Good, isn't it?” Van Statten asked, proudly.

“No, its utter crap”, the brunette said bluntly and turned to Simmons “move”.

“You might want to put these on first”, he said holding up a pair thick protective gloves “The last guy that touched it burst into flames”.

“If that happens, I’ll survive. I’m descended from a phoenix”, the Time Lady assured him and pushed him aside to enter the room behind him.

“I wont touch it”, the Doctor said, declining the gloves also. 

Inside the room dubbed as the Cage, it was dark except for a single blue circle of light. “Look I'm sorry about this”, the Doctor said with all sincerity he could muster “Mr Van Statten might think he's clever but never mind him. We've come to help. I'm the Doctor and this is the Phoenix”.

“We got your SOS”, the Time Lady added.

“Pho-nix” came an all too familiar voice.

“No…” the Phoenix breathed, her usual confident demeanour was gone and replaced with pure fear.

“Impossible”, the Doctor said equally as shocked as she was.

“The Phoenix?” the Dalek asked and the lights came up to reveal the alien chained to the middle of the room with a scorch mark across its base.

“You”, the Phoenix growled, her fear turned to fury at the monster that had taken her family from her. She made her hand glow with phoenix fire and flung it at the Doctor, sending the surprised Time Lord through the metal door.

Van Statten stared at him and then back to the intact door. “How did you do that?” he asked.

“It wasn’t me”, the Doctor replied “it was her. She wanted me out of the way”.

Inside the room, the Phoenix stalked towards the Dalek, the fire travelling all over her body. The alien tried to move back but it couldn’t go very far due to being restrained. “Have mercy!” it cried.

“Why should I?!” the Phoenix demanded “you murdered my family!”

She released a powerful wave of phoenix fire at the Dalek, setting it a blaze. The Phoenix watched it burn without an ounce of pity or remorse.

“She destroyed the prize of my collection! I’m going to make her pay!” Van Statten exclaimed watching the destruction on the monitor. 

The Doctor grabbed his arm, holding it tightly “you’ll do no such thing”, he growled. That Dalek had gotten what it deserved in his opinion.

“But she…”

“She did what was right” the Time Lord interrupted “if that Dalek had ever gotten out, it would’ve killed everyone”. The door slid open and the Phoenix stepped out. The Doctor let go of Van Statten’s arm to go over to her. “Are you alright?” he asked her softly.

“I don’t know”, the Time Lady admitted quietly, leaning against him. She would’ve felt relieved, the monster who’d killed her family was dead but for some reason she didn’t.

“That was the prize of my collection”, Van Statten said to the brunette angrily “you had no right…”

“I had every right”, the Phoenix snapped “that thing killed my parents right in front of me. Now I finally have some closure. Not to mention that I saved the lives of everyone on this planet for the billionth time, I might add. Cos if that Dalek had escaped, you along with everyone else would be dead. So you’re welcome”. The Time Lady moved away from the Doctor and toward Van Statten “You know, I think you should meet a friend of mine. She would love to meet you both”, she remarked and took out her phone “Hey, its me. You’re not busy right now are you? I’ve met some very delightful people that you just had to meet for yourself”.

As if by magic a black hole appeared and Raven stepped through. “Hey, Nix. Doctor”, she greeted the Time Lords “these the ‘delightful people’?” she nodded to Van Statten and Simmons.

“Yep”, the Phoenix confirmed. The assassin circled Van Statten, eyeing him up and down, making the American feel very uncomfortable.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Seeing if you’re as delightful as my friend says”, Raven answered.

“Well, can you stop? You’re making uneasy”, Van Statten said.

“That’s the whole point”, Raven stated with a grin.

“Raven, I was thinking that our mutual friend might fancy a couple of new playmates?” the Phoenix suggested.

“You know what? I think he might”, the white haired woman agreed. She made a black hole beneath Van Statten and Simmons’ feet and the fell through, screaming. “Wee!” the assassin whooped as she jumped into the black hole.

“Well, she was a delight as always”, the Doctor remarked and the Phoenix chuckled “So, who’s your mutual friend? It’s not Snapper is it?” 

“No, it’s Fenrir”, the Time Lady replied “He’s Raven’s pet werewolf”.

The Doctor laughed “I know I’ve said this before but you have got a knack for making really interesting friends”, he remarked.

“That I do”, the Phoenix agreed “now what say we go find that petulant child and Goose? Hopefully the English boy hasn’t gotten them into trouble”.

\---------------

The two Time Lords found Rose in a workshop, cowering away from Goose. “Thank god you’re here!” she cried “that thing just ate Adam!”

“Did that do something silly?” the Phoenix cooed, scooping up the Flerken “is that why you ate him?”

“How can you hold that…that thing!” Rose shouted.

“That ‘thing’ has a name”, the Time Lady said calmly.

“I don’t care! It ate Adam”, the blonde said, again growing hysterical.

“I’m sure she had a good reason for it”, the Doctor stated and Goose meowed.

The Phoenix giggled “He’s on a time out apparently”, she informed them “she’ll spit him out in a few minutes”.

“Good, let’s get going then”, the Doctor said and headed out of the room. Rose was quick to scarper after him. The Phoenix shifted Goose in her arms before following the pair.

It didn’t take very long to get back to the TARDIS’ where Goose spat out Adam. “Keep that thing away from me!” he cried scrambling back as fast as he could away from the Flerken.

“With pleasure”, the Phoenix said picking up Goose again “I’ll be off then”.

“Wait!” the Doctor called when she started to walk away. He hurried over to her when she stopped. “Are you going to be ok?” he asked gently.

“I’ll be fine”, the Phoenix assured him “really”.

“As long as your sure”, the Doctor said. He was loathed to let her go off on her own…well not exactly on her own since she had Goose. All the same, he didn’t feel right about letting her go off especially with happened with the Dalek.

“I’m 100% sure”, the brunette said “besides…” she glanced over his shoulder “looks like you’ve got your hands full with those two”.

The Doctor groaned “you sure you can’t stay? Don’t think I can manage on my own”.

The Time Lady laughed “its just two humans, you’ll be fine”, she said “but if you need me, you know how to get in touch”.


	7. Chapter 7

The Phoenix turned this way and that eyeing herself in the full length mirror. She was wearing a pastel purple princess style gown which was paired with some flats in the same colour. The Time Lady also wore a silver flora hair comb that was slotted into her updo. She nodded. Yes, she looked good enough to be at Princess Elizabeth’s 5th birthday party. The Phoenix cracked a smile but it wasn’t a genuine one as it didn’t reach her eyes. She sighed “Maybe I shouldn’t go”, she murmured.

Goose meowed at her and the Time Lady glance down. “I know it wouldn’t look good if the Princess’s godmother wasn’t there but still…I don’t want to ruin her day”, the Phoenix said. The Flerken meowed again, nudging her towards the door with her nose. “Ok, ok, I get the hint. I’ll go to the party”, the brunette said with a laugh and a smile, a genuine one this time.

The Phoenix walked to the console room, Goose padding after her. She’d just started piloting the TARDIS through the time vortex when a mystery object flew past. “What the hell was that?!” she exclaimed, noticing it on her scanner. She was quick to follow after it. “Hold on Goose!” she shouted as the ship began to shake more than normal “this is gonna get really bumpy!”

The Time Lady yelped as she was thrown to the floor. Goose joining her, the Flerken grumbling despite the soft landing due to the carpet. The Phoenix grabbed the console and pulled herself to her feet and eyed the scanner. “Of course, he’s ‘tethered’ himself to it”, she grumbled, seeing that the Doctor’s TARDIS was there “why does he do those sorts of things? He knows that’s dangerous”.

The Phoenix piloted the ship as best as she could after the Doctor’s TARDIS and the mystery object. Before long the TARDIS landed safely. Well, as safely as it could in the height of WW2. “Stay here and look after the ship”, she said to Goose “I shouldn’t be too long”. The Flerken watched as she left the TARDIS, pulling the door closed behind her.

The Time Lady had barely started walking when she noticed something that made her groan loudly. High above was the Doctor’s silly companion, climbing up a rope. Suddenly the rope moved away from the wall revealing it to be attached to barrage balloon. “He sure knows how to pick ‘em”, the Phoenix griped before transforming into her bird form and flew after the wayward blonde. The Time Lady followed the barrage balloon closely, keeping an eye on Rose. She had to be ready to catch the stupid human if…no when she inevitably let go of the rope.

On the ground below, Jack was peering up at the barrage balloon with his very advanced binoculars. He noticed the blonde hanging from the rope and wondered if it was the Phoenix getting herself in some sort of predicament. Then he spotted the magnificent bird flying next to the balloon. “Hello again Nix”, he whispered, a smile forming on his face. He lowered the binoculars and turned to Algy “I’ve gotta go and meet a girl”, he said, tucking the binoculars away in his pocket.

“This the mysterious ‘Nix’ you won’t shut up about?” Algy asked with a grin. He and the boys were used to the American going on non-stop about this amazing woman.

“Yes, it is”, Jack answered, with his own grin “be seeing you” and with that he left.

In the night sky, one of the air raid explosions got too close to the barrage balloon causing the Phoenix to swerve, letting out a screech. Rose let go of the rope and fell, screaming. The Time Lady quickly changed back in order to grab the human but the blonde was caught in the blue beam of light.

 _“Okay, okay, I've got you”_ , Jack’s voice came from somewhere below. The Phoenix moved over a little, her eyes following the beam to its source. The ship, which was currently cloaked, was a good hundred meters below them.

“Who's got me? Who's got me, and you know…how?” Rose asked, both surprised and scared.

 _“I'm just programming your descent pattern. Keep as still as you can and keep your hands and feet inside the light field”¸_ Jack instructed.

“Descent pattern?” Rose questioned, her voice not losing its fear.

 _“Oh, and could you switch off your cell phone? No, seriously, it interferes with my instrument”,_ Jack said making the Time Lady laugh to herself.

“He did not just say that”, she giggled.

“You know, no one ever believes that”, Rose said and turned her phone off anyway.

“Well, you just believed it otherwise you wouldn’t have turned your phone off, you silly human”, the Phoenix muttered.

_“Thank you. That's much better”_

“Oh, yeah, that's a real load off, that is. I'm hanging in the sky in the middle of a German air raid with the Union Jack across my chest, but hey, my mobile phone's off”, Rose sarcastically and the Time Lady tilted her head. It seemed that the child had some sass to her. She would be more fascinated if she didn’t dislike the human already.

 _“Be with you in a moment”_ , Jack said. Mere seconds later, the American had told her to ‘hold tight’. 

“To what?” Rose shouted back.

 _“Fair point”_ , Jack said. The blonde screamed as she zoomed feet first down the tunnel of blue light.

“Geronimo!” the Phoenix whooped as she dove into the tunnel, throwing her hands up like it was some crazy ride. She landed on her feet inside Jack’s ship where she found him with an unconscious Rose in his arms.

“Nix…hi”, the man breathed.

“Hello again”, the Time Lady greeted.

Jack glanced down at Rose “Uh…just give me a second”, he said and went to the back of his ship where he laid her on the bed. He was quick to return to the Phoenix. “You look incredible”, he remarked “much better than the last time in that café”.

The Time Lady frowned “the café?” she repeated “that was the first time since regenerating into this body. We met again in Bolivia where I saved you from those men”.

It was Jack’s turn to frown “I’ve seen this version of you twice?” he asked “damn…must be during the years I can’t remember”. He walked to the pilot’s seat and sat down, looking rather dejected.

“What do you mean years you can’t remember?” the Phoenix questioned, sitting in the chair opposite “someone took your memories?”

Jack nodded “it was the Time Agency. One day I woke up to find that they’d taken two years’ worth of memories from me. Two years I don’t remember, including seeing you”, he explained.

The Phoenix reached out, placing her hand over his. “I’m so sorry”, she said “I can’t restore all your memories but I can give you back the one of us” she shifted to the edge of her seat and put her fingers on his temples “close your eyes”, she instructed and Jack did so. The Time Lady did the same and proceeded to project their time in Bolivia to him.

She literally just finished when Jack kissed her. “Thank you”, he murmured against her lips.

“You’re welcome”, the Phoenix said.

Jack glanced toward Rose “She your companion?” he asked.

The Phoenix shot him a look “No, definitely not. She’s the Doctor’s companion. He could’ve chosen better though, she’s a rather irritating child”.

“Maybe I should’ve let her fall then”, Jack remarked.

“No, you did the right thing”, the Phoenix said, somewhat reluctantly “Jack, have you seen anything…strange crash land somewhere around here?” she asked “I was on my way to Princess Elizabeth’s birthday party when an object flew past my ship in the time vortex”.

Jack immediately had a guilty look on his face “uh…that was my fault. I was using a Chula ambulance to get the Time Agencies attention and I didn’t realise it would almost crash into your ship. So I’m really sorry about that”, he said.

“That’s quite alright”, the Phoenix said “though I’m afraid your plan kinda failed since all you got was the attention of myself and the Doctor”.

“Which is a shame…well not a shame cos I’m glad to see you again but a shame as I really needed their attention so I could get my memories back…” Jack rambled.

“You’re not making any sense. How’s throwing a Chula ambulance going to get your memories back?” the Phoenix asked and then it hit her “of course, you were going to con them”, she stated “a Time Agent shows up, you show them the ambulance, probably class it as a warship, and they give you what you want. However, when they go to collect their ‘prize’ it accidently gets blown up by a bomb. Which is an unfortunate hazard given that we’re in the Blitz. That sound about right?”

“Yeah it does”, Jack admitted, not surprised she had worked it out.

The Phoenix glanced back at Rose as she began to stir. The blonde sat up and smiled at Jack, not even noticing the Time Lady. The American glanced at the Phoenix which made Rose aware of her presence. “Oh, great, the Phoenix”, she grumbled, none too pleased to see her.

“Hello to you too, Little Miss Danger Prone”, the Phoenix sassed and Jack snorted as her words.

Rose opted not to be too riled up by the name she’d just been called and got up from the bed and walked over to them. “So, um…who're you supposed to be, then?” she asked, leaning against Jack’s chair. The Phoenix decided to turn away, pretending to busy herself with the panel in front of her.

“Captain Jack Harkness, 133 Squadron, Royal Air Force”, he handed Rose an ID card “American volunteer”.

“Liar”, she stated, having had a quick glance at it to see that it was nothing more than psychic paper “This is psychic paper. It tells me whatever you want it to tell me”.

“How do you know?” Jack asked.

“Two things. One, I have a friend who uses this all the time. And two, you just handed me a piece of paper telling me you're single and you work out”, Rose explained and the Time Lady froze. She quickly masked her expression which betrayed the brief flash of jealousy she felt. She had no reason to be jealous at Jack’s flirting for she was the one who expressly told him that she couldn’t start anything with him again.

“Tricky thing, psychic paper…” Jack started.

“Yeah. Can't let your mind wander when you're handing it over”, Rose finished, giving it back to him. 

“Oh, you ‘sort of’ have a boyfriend called Mickey Smith but you consider yourself to be footloose and fancy free”, Jack remarked reading the ID.

Rose’s face flushed, embarrassed “Wha?”

“Actually, the word you use is available”, Jack corrected with a grin.

“No way”, Rose mumbled.

“And another one, _very_ ”, Jack continued, still smiling. He snuck a glance at the Phoenix but she had her gaze fixed on the panel in front of her, fiddling about with it. Even though she’d told him that she didn’t want to pick up where they’d left off due to what she had gone through in the war…he had hoped that she would interrupt the ‘flirting’.

“Shall we try and get along WITHOUT the psychic paper?” Rose suggested.

“That would be better, wouldn't it?” Jack agreed.

“Nice spaceship”, Rose commented looking around the craft.

“Gets me around”, Jack said.

“Very Spock”, the blonde remarked.

Jack frowned “Who?” he asked, confused.

“Alien from Star Trek. Ears like an elf and funny eyebrows”, the Phoenix explained.

“Oh, yes. That’s right”, Jack chuckled earning him a smile from the brunette. Rose eyed the pair, it seemed like they knew each other. “You don’t appear to be a local girl”, he stated, glancing at Rose “nor you Princess”, he added, looking at the Time Lady “or…are you a Queen?”

A light blush appeared on the Time Lady’s cheeks which she tried to will away as quickly as she could. “Stop it”, she mumbled.

“Never”, Jack said reaching across to take her hand, intertwining her fingers with his. The Phoenix glanced down at their linked hands and then up to Jack. She should pull away…she really should but she found that she didn’t want to. Rose looked between the two of them and scowled.

“Nix, where is the Doctor?” she demanded, making the pair look at her.

“How should I know?” the Time Lady countered, pulling her hand out of Jack’s grasp. She hadn’t seen the Time Lord since she had been too busy keeping an eye on his idiot companion.

“Uh…cos whenever you show up…its almost always near the Doctor”, Rose stated. That had Jack feeling a little jealous even though he knew that the Time Lord was the Phoenix’s best friend. However, the guy was the same species. The Doctor could spend his entire life or lives with her whereas he wouldn’t be able to. So perhaps his jealousy was founded.

“True”, the Time Lady admitted “but unfortunately I have no idea where he is, considering I was too busy making sure you didn’t become a human pancake”.

“I can find the Doctor”, Jack spoke up.

“How?” Rose asked.

“I’ll scan for alien tech”, the man replied.

“Finally!” Rose cheered “a professional”.

“So shall we get down to business?” Jack questioned as he fired up the scanner.

“Business?” Rose repeated.

“A fully equipped Chula warship is in London. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth. And I know where it is, because I parked it. If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is going to fall on it and destroy it forever”, Jack explained, seriously. The Phoenix had to suppress a smile as Jack was fully aware that Rose was NOT a Time Agent but was going to do his little ‘con’ anyway. “That's your deadline. That's the deal. Now, shall we discuss payment?”

“You know…I think you used to be a Time Agent, now you're some kind of freelancer”, Rose teased.

A mock offended look appeared on Jack’s face “Well, that's a little harsh. I like to think of myself as a criminal”, he said, winking at the Phoenix. She smiled, shaking her head at him. “So this Doctor fellow, does he handle the business?”

“Well, I delegate a lot of that, yeah”, Rose answered, trying her best not to feel irritated by the way that Jack was flirting with the Phoenix. she would much rather the man’s attention just be on her, like it was a few minutes ago. The scanner bleeped.

“Looks like your friend is at Albion Hospital”, Jack stated and programmed his ship to go there.

\---------------

“Hello?” Rose called as they walked through the darkened corridors.

“Oi Doctor!” the Phoenix shouted “where are ya?”

As if he’d heard her, the Time Lord stepped out of the ward and walked toward them. “Nix? Wow…you look…beautiful”, he breathed, taking her in.

The Phoenix curtsied “why thank you, good sir”, she said in a faux posh voice “I was on my way to Princess Elizabeth…”

“You mean _Queen_ Elizabeth”, Rose cut in.

The Phoenix shot an annoyed look at her “If you let me finish. I was on my way to Princess Elizabeth’s 5th birthday party”, she said “when my ship almost collided with a little something that this guy, sent into the time vortex”.

“And I told him that we were Time Agents”, Rose added and the Doctor nodded.

“It’s a real pleasure to meet you Doctor Spock”, Jack said and moved past the Doctor to go into the ward, the Phoenix following him.

The Time Lady stopped dead “Oh my god”, she gasped “what happened here?”

Jack walked over to one of the patients and scanned him with the device on his wrist. “What kind of Chula ship landed here?” the Doctor demanded. The Time Lady frowned at him, his tone was very accusatory as if he believed Jack was somehow responsible for the state of these patients.

“He said it was a warship. He stole it, parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's going to fall on it unless we make him an offer”, Rose explained.

“What kind of warship?” the Doctor pressed.

“Does it matter?” Jack asked agitated “It's got nothing to do with this”.

“This started at the bomb site”, the Doctor said, angrily and the Phoenix’s eyes widened “It's got everything to do with it. What kind of warship?”

An ambulance!” Jack turns on his wrist device to show the three of them a hologram of the ambulance “That's what you and Nix chased through the Time Vortex. Its space junk”.

“It was a con”, the Phoenix added “Jack did it to get the attention of the Time Agency”.

“You knew?!” Rose exclaimed “and you just played along!”

“It was for a bit of fun”, the Phoenix said defensively “we were going to tell you once we met up with the Doctor” she looked at the patients “but I had no idea the ambulance caused this”.

“It didn’t cause this Nix”, Jack insisted “come on. You know me, I would never do anything to harm anyone”.

The Phoenix opened her mouth to say something when all the patients sat up. “What’s happening?” Rose asked as they started to say ‘mummy’ in a really creepy manner.

“I don't know”, the Doctor said. Jack drew the Phoenix to his side as the patients and Doctor Constantine stood up. The four of them backed away as they gas masked people slowly approached them. “Don't let them touch you”, the Doctor warned.

“What happens if they touch us?” Rose asked, fearfully.

“My guess, we’ll turn into them”, the Phoenix said, grabbing hold of Jack’s hand. Her grip tightened around his as their backs hit the wall.

The Time Lady’s eyes went from patient to patient as they drew even closer. She had to do something! The Phoenix, pulled her hand from Jack’s and stepped forward. She erected a wall of fire, halting the gasmasked people’s advance. “Go to your room!” she ordered and they all tilted her head at her “I mean it! I’m _very_ angry with you”, the Phoenix said, putting all her power behind her words “Now…go. Go. Your. Room!”

She kept the wall up as the patients ambled back to their beds not wanting to dissipate it just in case they were going to come back. Once they were all safely back in their beds and seemingly asleep, she made the fire wall disappear. “That was bad ass!” Jack cheered.

“Definitely”, the Doctor agreed with a grin. Rose just scoffed under her breath, at how awed the men appeared to be. In truth she was actually a bit afraid of the Time Lady, not that she was going to let anyone know it.

“Jack, are you sure that you didn’t have anything to do with this?” the Phoenix asked, turning to him.

“Yes! I swear, that ambulance was empty. It didn’t have anything to cause all this”, he insisted.

“That is where you are wrong”, the Doctor said, angrily “and I’ll prove it”. He then stormed out of the room.

“Where are we going?” the Phoenix asked, running after him, the two human’s hurrying to catch up.

“Room 802”, the Time Lord replied “that’s where the truth is”.

It took them a few minutes navigating the corridors and a couple of flights of stairs before they reached a secure metal door. Jack took out his blaster and cuts a square hole around the lock.

“Sonic blaster, fifty first century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?” the Doctor stated, eyeing the weapon.

“You've been to the factories?” Jack asked.

“Once”, the Time Lord took the blaster from him.

“Well, they gone now, destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot”, Jack explained.

“Like I said, once”, the Doctor handed the gun back “There's a banana grove there, now”. The Phoenix laughed, turning it into a cough when Jack glanced at her. “I like bananas. Bananas are good”, the Doctor said with a grin and entered the room.

“You like blowing things up, dontcha?” the Phoenix asked the Doctor with a smile as she followed him in.

“You’re one to talk. You like making things explode just as much”, the Time Lord playfully shot back.

“I never said it didn’t”, the Phoenix said “besides, it’s a lot of fun. Especially paint and glitter bombs. They have an…interesting result”.

“Don’t remind me. It took me ages to get cleaned up after that ‘ultimate’ bomb that Raven planted”, the Doctor grumbled, shuddering at the memory “why you showed her how to make them, I’ll never know”.

“It was either that or play her version of Rock, Paper, Scissors”, the Phoenix defended “and I would rather her blow things up with paint than real dynamite”.

“Good point”, the Doctor conceded. It was the less lethal option…though knowing the assassin, she’d find a way to make paint/glitter bombs deadly. He flicked a light on revealing a vandalised room.

“Speaking of bombs, it looks like on has hit this place”, the Phoenix remarked.

“Looks like something got out of here”, Jack commented “something powerful and angry”.

The Time Lady entered the room off to the side, looking at all the child’s things sadly. The American stepped up beside her, sliding her hand in his, knowing where her mind had gone. “I suppose this explains ‘mummy’”, he stated.

“Yeah”, she whispered and Jack squeezed her hand gently.

“How could a child do this?” Rose questioned, rather baffled by how a kid could have such power to cause all this destruction. From outside the room, the Doctor turned on a tape machine.

 _“Do you know where you are?”_ Doctor Constantine asked

_“Are you my mummy?”_

_“Are you aware of what's around you? Can you see?”_ Constantine questioned.

 _“Are you my mummy?”_ the boy repeated.

_“What do you want? Do you know…”_

_“I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?_ ”

“Doctor, I've heard this voice before”, Rose said recognising it.

“So have I”, the Doctor said.

 _“Mummy?_ ”

“Always ‘are you my mummy?’ Like he doesn't know”, Rose continued.

_“Mummy?”_

The Phoenix looked from picture to picture, her eyes resting on one particular drawing. It was of two stick figures, one of which was decidedly female with long hair and a skirt. It was labelled as ‘mummy’. She tugged her hand out of Jack’s once again and went over to the picture.

The Time Lady touched the drawing for a moment before she quickly withdrew her hand. “Nix, you ok?” Jack asked, concerned.

“No, I’m not”, she whispered and turned to him, tears in her eyes “you did this. That space junk you ‘parked’ wasn’t empty…there’s was something in it that changed the little boy…that’s changing everyone”.

Jack paled at her words “Nix, I swear I didn’t know…” he told her.

“He’s afraid”, the Time Lady continued “Terribly afraid and powerful. He doesn't know it yet, but he will do. It's got the power of a god and…” her eyes widened “I just sent him to his room”.

She looked over to the frame with the window used to be and saw the child. “Are you my mummy?” he asked over the crackling of the tape “Mummy?”

“Doctor?” Rose mumbled, afraid as the boy tilted his head, looking right at her.

“On my signal make for the door. Now!” Jack produces a banana from his belt and points it at the child like a weapon. The Doctor grins and pulled the sonic blaster from his own belt. He used it on the wall, creating a hole large enough for them all to get through. He stepped through the hole, quickly followed by Rose. “Nix, come on”, Jack said grabbing her arm and pulling her towards it when she didn’t move.

He then snatched his blaster back from the Doctor and repaired the wall. He tossed the banana at the Doctor who caught it “Nice switch”, he stated.

“It's from the groves of Villengard”, the Time Lord said “I thought it was appropriate”.

“There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?” Jack asked.

“Bananas are good”, the Doctor said, repeating his earlier statement. Suddenly the wall started to crack.

“Go, I’ll hold him off”, the Phoenix ordered.

“Nix I…” Jack started.

“Doctor get them out of here”, she said sharply, moving closer to the wall, creating her barrier of flames.

“She’ll be fine”, the Time Lord said to Jack as he had to forcibly move the man. Rose on the other hand, was all too happy to leave the Time Lady behind.

“And you know that for sure do you?” Jack demanded “you can tell me for certain that she’ll be ok”.

The Doctor couldn’t answer him. He knew that the Phoenix _was_ powerful but even she couldn’t hold the child at bay forever. Even if she was able to do so, there was still the problem of all the other patients with the same affliction. All it took was a single touch from any of them for her to become infected. 

Jack ran back to the Phoenix. “What are you doing here?!” the Time Lady exclaimed, seeing him “I told you to go!”

The man opened him mouth to say something when the boy suddenly broke through the wall, making the Phoenix stumble back, her firey barrier now gone. “Now what do we do?”, Rose asked as 2 groups of gas masked patients appeared, trapping them.

“You survive”, the Phoenix said before she did exactly what she’d done to the Doctor in Van Statten’s museum but this time she sent them through the floor. The Time Lady cried out when the young boy grabbed her hand while she was distracted. Almost immediately she could feel herself being infected by the same thing Jamie was.

On the floor below, both Jack and the Doctor were jumping to their feet. “Use your blaster!” the Time Lord ordered, anxious to get back to his best friend. The human tried it on the ceiling but it didn’t work.

“Damn it”, Jack cursed, smacking his hand on the weapon “battery is drained”.

“It has a battery?” Rose asked with a laugh, not caring about the predicament the Phoenix was in “that’s so lame!”

“Shut it”, Jack snapped “we need to get to the floor above, now”.

“Agreed”, the Doctor said “come on, there must be stairs nearby”. The pair of them started off making Rose groan.

“Seriously? We’re running back to the danger after she ‘saves’ us from it?” she grumbled, begrudgingly following them.

The Phoenix pulled her hand out of Jamie’s grasp, falling back against the wall opposite. She panted as she fought the nanogenes from rewriting her DNA. The patients and Jamie made no move to approach her knowing that she was going to become like one of them. “Nix, this is NOT how it’s going to end”, she moaned “come on girl, fight it!”

The brunette closed her eyes and focused on the fire within herself, the fire of the phoenix. She forced her breathing to slow as she allowed it to spread throughout her body burning away the nanogenes. The phoenix fire exploded from her form, striking all the patients. The Time Lady collapsed to the ground, shaking from the effort. Just before she passed out, the Phoenix noticed all the people removing their gasmasks. She smiled and slipped into unconsciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

By the time that the three of them had gotten back up to the level where the Time Lady was, all the patients were wandering about, confused. “Nix!” Jack called as he pushed through them all to find her unconscious.

“She saved us all”, Jamie said quietly.

“Yeah, kid she’s clever that way”, Jack said gently picking up the brunette, cradling her against his chest “come on, Nix wake up”, he softly urged “Doctor, what’s wrong with her?” he asked as the Time Lord neared.

The Doctor scanned her with his sonic. “Seems like she’s exhausted herself. Whatever Phoenix did to change these people back, took a great toll on her”, he explained.

Jack stood up, taking care not to jostle the unconscious Time Lady in his arms. “I’ll take her back to her TARDIS”, he said.

“And Rose and I will make sure Jamie gets back to Nancy AND make sure that bomb falls on the ambulance”, the Doctor him.

“Sounds like a plan”, the American agreed.

“Jack”, the Time Lord called as he started off, carrying the Phoenix “look after her”.

“Don’t worry”, Jack assured him “I have every intention of doing so”.

\--------------

“Hey Goose”, Jack greeted the Flerken as he entered the TARDIS. It was actually pretty easy to find her ship since it pinged rather loudly on his wrist device. It was as if it wanted him to find it which didn’t surprise him in the least. “She’ll be fine, just a little tired”, the American added at the feline’s worried look. Goose padded after them as Jack made his way to the med bay. He carefully placed her on the bed before taking a seat beside it. The Flerken hopped up onto the bed, eyeing the Time Lady.

Minute after worrying minute passed until finally the Phoenix stirred. “Blimey, I haven’t been I here for a while”, she remarked, pushing herself into a sitting position, shaking her head “remind me not to do that again for some time. I feel bleh”.

“I know something that’ll make you feel better”, Jack said.

“Oh?” the Time Lady asked turning toward him “what’s that?”

“This”, Jack replied, cupping her face and kissed her. The Phoenix closed her eyes, feeling warmth flooding through her body. It wasn’t hot like the phoenix fire but it was equally as nice. “Feel better?” he asked.

“Yeah”, the brunette breathed “I do”.

Jack smiled “good”, he said and leant in to kiss her again when she placed a finger on his lips.

“Jack, wait”, the Phoenix whispered.

He sighed, sitting back “I know…with everything you went through, you can’t start anything…or restart in our case. I get that, I do. But…” Jack sighed again, looking at his hands “I love you Nix and I will till the day I die. And if you let me, I’ll spend the rest of my days showing you”.

The Phoenix slid off the bed and knelt down so she was eye level with him “Jack”, she said softly, placing a hand on his cheek, making him meet her gaze “I love you too, so much. But I’m not ready. I just…need a little more time”, she admitted.

Jack placed a hand over hers “Take as much time as you need”, he said “I’m not going anywhere”.

“Maybe you should go”, the Phoenix suggested “look for your memories, I mean. And while you do that I’ll do what I do best”.

“Save planets, kick ass and take names, all the while looking very hot”, Jack said with a smirk, making her blush.

“That’s not helping”, she mumbled.

“Sorry, couldn’t help it”, Jack said, taking her hands and standing up “one more kiss for the road?”

“Sure”, the Phoenix replied and he did just that. Goose decided to make herself scarce when their last kiss was quite possibly their most passionate one in a very, very long time. “I love you”, she whispered.

“I love you more”, Jack countered.

\--------------

“Why is this happening to me!” Mickey shouted as he ran away from the crazed creature that was chasing him “leave me alone!”

Suddenly an arrow whistled over his head, catching the creature in the head. It fell to the floor with a thud. Mickey gaped at the hooded figure holding a bow, standing a couple of feet away. His saviour pushed back the hood to reveal that it was a woman. “Mickey Smith, you’re a hard man to find”, she remarked, walking towards him “you ought to be more careful who you research, you never know what you might uncover”.

“Wait, you’re the Phoenix aren’t you?” Mickey asked, the penny having dropped as to why she looked so familiar “you are!” he continued before she could confirm it “Yes!” he whooped and she raised her brows “sorry, its just…I was really excited to meet you. If what I read is correct, you’re a bit a of a badass”.

“Don’t believe everything you read, some of that stuff has been exaggerated”, the Phoenix said “by both fans and those that fear me. Why were you looking for me anyway? Is this about Rose cos quite frankly I don’t like her”.

“What? No, its not”, Mickey said “Ever since I met the Doctor, I’ve been curious to know more”.

“Careful Mickey, curiosity killed the cat”, the Phoenix playfully warned “or curiosity would’ve killed you if I’d been half a second later”.

“And for that, I thank you”, Mickey said.

The Phoenix tilted her head, considering him. She’d read up on the human naturally and wondered how he would fare with a trip in the TARDIS. Yes, he’d got himself eaten by a wheely bin but he also saved the world too. That was enough to give him a chance in her ship. “Would you like to come with me?” she offered.

“Hold on, are you offering me a trip in your TARDIS?” Mickey asked, somewhat excited.

“Yes, I am”, the Phoenix replied.

“Yes!” the man cheered again “100% yes!”

The Phoenix smiled at his enthusiasm “Good. However, I have a few ground rules. These are my ‘don’t be a dumbass rules’. One: treat my ship with respect. She is a sentient being and will punish you if you upset her. Two: you do what I say without question. Three: don’t do anything stupid and reckless”, she explained “and you’ll get three strikes. Once you use all those up, you’re out. Understood?”

Mickey nodded “yes, I understand”, he said, agreeing to her terms.

“Good”, the Time Lady said again “now, shall we?” she asked, gesturing toward where her ship was parks, disguised as a red phone box.

“Sure!” Mickey replied. The Phoenix laughed as he pretty much ran over to her ship, bouncing on his feet as he waited for her.

\-------------

“This place is nice”, Mickey remarked taking in the console room “very homely”. It seemed…more inviting than the Doctor’s one. There were a few steps leading up to the platform which he noticed was carpeted instead of grilled. The arches were made of polished wood and the console itself seems less thrown together. He noted a Phoenix on one of the panels, like her namesake. The console room almost looked like it could belong in a Victorian mansion, even the lights attached to the walls.

“Thanks”, the Phoenix said “I like it. Reminds me of a house I used to stay in a long time ago”.

“Carpet must come in handy if you have the occasional rough landing”, Mickey commented, nodding down to it.

“Oh for sure”, the Time Lady agreed “Oh! I almost forgot, I have another friend onboard. Her name is Goose, she a Flerken” the brunette looked around and frowned “I guess she’s around somewhere. You’ll see her soon enough, I expect. So you’ve got all of time and space at your fingertips, where would you like to go?” the Phoenix asked.

“There is somewhere I’d like to go”, Mickey replied and gave her the address to his grandmother’s place.

“Alright”, the Phoenix said “hold on. Maybe a little bumpy”. Mickey held onto the console while she piloted the ship through the time vortex. When it appeared in Rita Anne’s house, it went from red phone box to old clock.

Mickey did a double take upon seeing the outside “it’s changed”, he stated.

“That’ll be the chameleon circuit”, the Phoenix replied “allows her to blend into her environment”.

“Clever”, Mickey remarked.

“Yep”, the Phoenix agreed “Where exactly are we?” she asked looking around.

“This is my grandmother’s house, the day after she died”, Mickey said. He left the room, heading for the stairs.

“What happened?” the Phoenix asked, following.

“She fell down these stairs, broke her neck”, Mickey replied. He walked up the steps, stopping by the tear in the carpet. “This was the reason”, Mickey sat down “I meant to fix it for her…so many times and I never did” he plucked the frayed edges “I always wished I could turn back the clock…” he looked at her “you could take me back”.

“I could”, the Phoenix said, perching on a step.

“I can see her alive”, Mickey continued and the Time Lady nodded “but I wouldn’t be allowed to fix this, would I?” he tugged at the tear “cos it’ll change everything”.

“Yes, it would”, the Phoenix agreed. She was surprised at how sensible he was being. Anyone else would be jumping at the chance to save their loved ones. _Like Rose…_ she thought, darkly. But not Mickey. Perhaps he would make a good companion after all. “Would you wanna go somewhere else?” she asked.

“Please”, Mickey replied. They got up from the stairs and headed back to the TARDIS.

\---------

The Phoenix glanced toward the doors when she heard a knock. She had literally just put the ship into the time vortex when they heard a knocking. “Uh…there’s a knock at the doors”, Mickey stated “is that even possible?”

“Not normally, no”, the brunette answered. She crossed the room and pulled them open “watch out!” she shouted, ducking out of the way as an object flew in. Mickey hit the carpeted floor. The Phoenix quickly closed the doors and watched the object bounce around the room a bit before it zoomed towards her. She grabbed it as it got within inches of her face.

“It’s a…message in a bottle?” Mickey stated, confused “that’s a bit weird”.

“Not even remotely”, the Phoenix said “he would only send me this in an emergency”, she added moving to the console. 

“Who?” Mickey asked.

“A friend I made a while ago”, the Phoenix replied “a pirate”.

“Hence the message in a bottle”, Mickey nodded “gotcha”.

“Yep” the Phoenix said, popping the p. She uncorked the bottle “I hope his emergency isn’t that he’s stranded on an island again”.

“Does that happen often?” Mickey asked.

“Well, I’ve only rescued him once from an island but I wouldn’t put it past him”, the brunette answered. The Phoenix gingerly removed the small slip of paper from the glass bottle.

“What’s it say?” Mickey questioned, moving closer to read it.

“Just one word ‘help’”, the Phoenix said. She stuck the paper in her pocket and tossed the bottle to Mickey. “Hold on, we got a pirate to save!”

The man clutched on to the bottle and the console as the Time Lady proceeded to pilot the TARDIS to where the message was sent from.


	9. Chapter 9

Captain Jack Sparrow looked up when he heard footsteps coming down the stone stairs “Nyx! Me old mate!” he cheered, seeing the Time Lady appear along with an unfamiliar man.

“Jack”, the Phoenix greeted “what did you do to end up in here?”

“Nothin’”, Jack replied “now get me out of here!”

“I find it hard to believe you got arrested for doing nothing”, the Phoenix said “Actually…maybe I can believe it” she sighed “Ok, let’s get you free”.

“Alright!” the pirate jumped to his feet “Use your little buzzy stick thing and open this door”, he added mimicking holding something and swishing it around.

“Buzzy stick thing?” Mickey asked, frowning in confusion.

“Yeah, this thing”, the Phoenix taking it out of her pocket.

“Oh! The sonic screwdriver”, the man nodded.

“Just roll with it, Mickey. He coined the phrase while drunk”, the Time Lady “probably easier to remember after too much rum”. She flashed her sonic over the lock and in unlocked. Jack pushed open the creaky cage door.

“Thanks Nyx”, he said “you wouldn’t happen to have any rum on you?”

The Phoenix shook her head “I’m afraid not”, she replied.

Jack grumbled “Why is the rum always gone?” he complained.

“You keep guzzling it like there’s no tomorrow”, the Phoenix reminded him.

“Touché, love”, Jack reluctantly agreed “in any case I need rum!” he declared. Jack put his hat and other things that the soldiers had taken from him on and the trio left. They hadn’t made it very far when they were met by Will Turner.

“Captain Jack Sparrow?” he asked. Jack ducked behind the Phoenix and Mickey making the Time Lady roll her eyes.

“Depends. Who’s asking, kid?” she questioned.

“Will Turner”, Will answered a bit offended by being called a ‘kid’. The woman standing in front of him had to be about Elizabeth’s age. Not old enough to call him that. Jack poked his head out at the name.

“That would be short of William, I imagine. Good strong name”, he commented and stepped out behind the pair fully “no doubt name for your father, eh?”

“Yes”, Will confirmed.

“Then I am indeed Captain Jack Sparrow”, Jack said “what is it you need?”

“To find Miss Swann. They took her last night”, Will explained.

“I will be happy to help you rescue your bonnie lass”, Jack said.

“You would?” Will asked, a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected it to be this easy since the pirate was already free.

“Most definitely”, Jack replied. He turned to the Phoenix and Mickey “what say you, Nyx? Want to help?”

Mickey and the Phoenix exchanged looks “I’m in if you are”, Mickey said. He was actually a little excited of the prospect of going on an adventure with a pirate.

The Time Lady glanced at Jack “Aye, I’m in”, she said.

\--------------------

 _Should’ve seen this coming_ the Phoenix thought as she walked out onto the plank. She turned to face Barbosa and his crew “This isn’t the last you’ve seen on us”, she said.

“I think it is missy. There’s no way off the island”, Barbosa said and laughed, the rest the pirates laughed too.

“Never say never”, the Phoenix said “so underestimate us at your own peril. Be seeing ya” and with that she did a backflip off the plank, landing in the water alongside Jack, Mickey and Elizabeth. The four of them swam to the island nearby. “You alright Mickey?” the Phoenix asked as she unlaced her boots and tugged them off.

“I’m fine”, he replied squeezing the water from his pirate style shirt. The Phoenix had the idea of dressing for the time period as it meant less questions. The Time Lady took several items out of her pockets, including her sonic. She tapped it sonic against her palm, testing it and smiling when the tip lit up. She knew her pockets sealed themselves when she hit the water, protecting the stuff inside but she had to make sure. “So, how are we going to get off this island?” Mickey asked pulling his boots off to allow them to dry and to let the sun get to his feet as they were a little damp too.

“Well…” the Phoenix started only to be cut off by Jack cheering

“I GOT RUM!”

The pair glanced behind them to see the pirate standing there with a big smile on the face, waving a bottle at them. Mickey snorted at the sight which set the Phoenix off. “Fancy trying a bit of rum?” the Time Lady asked once they’d stopped laughing.

“Isn’t that a bit stupid and reckless?” Mickey countered “and your rule is that I shouldn’t be doing that”.

“Mickey, I think we passed stupid and reckless the moment we decided to join Jack and Will”, the Phoenix said “so in this instance, I’m marking this as an exception”

“Let’s go try some rum then”, Mickey said getting up. He held out his hands, the Phoenix took them and he pulled her to her feet. They walked quickly over the sand to join Jack.

Before long the quartet was dancing around a roaring fire, bottles of rum in their hands. “Yo! Ho! Yo ho, a pirates life for me!” Elizabeth, Jack and Mickey sang drunkenly. The Phoenix just laughed at them, her very high tolerance to alcohol meant she wasn’t the least bit tipsy. But she did know how to pretend to be.

“And really bad eggs!” the pirate added.

“Gotta love those bad eggs!” Mickey agreed. He stumbled away from the fire, falling onto the sand.

“You alright there Mick?” the Phoenix asked.

“Couldn’t be alrighter Cap’n”, Mickey replied in a very bad pirate voice “you know we should get a ship. A proper ship. And sail the high seas”, he suggested, waving his bottle around.

“Would be one heck of an adventure”, the Time Lady agreed.

“Yep”, Mickey said with a hiccup. His joyous expression left his face, a sad one replacing it “Rose wouldn’t let me drink. Wicked ex of the West” he griped. A grin appeared on his face and he started laughing “she’s a wicked witch!” the Phoenix just watched him, highly amused by his drunken antics. Mickey slung an arm over her “not like you. You’re awesome”.

“Thanks”, the Time Lady said.

“You’re really awesome”, Mickey continued “the awesomest awesome person I know” he arm slipped from her shoulders and he fell asleep.

“So are you Mickey”, the Phoenix quietly agreed, though she’d only really just met him, she was glad that she offered him a chance in the TARDIS. She laid down on the sand, arm behind her head and looked up at the stars. “Drink up me hearties, yo ho”, she murmured and closed her eyes.

The Time Lady shot up into a sitting position when she smelt smoke. She jumped to her feet upon seeing the flames. “No!” Jack shouted at Elizabeth as she tossed another barrel onto the fire “Stop! Not good!”

“What’s going on?” the Phoenix asked rushing to his side.

“She’s burning the rum!” the pirate exclaimed.

“Yes the rum is gone”, Elizabeth confirmed, walking towards them.

“Why’s the rum gone?” Jack asked, in a complete panic over the loss of his favourite drink.

“One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into the complete scoundrels”, Elizabeth argued “two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me. Do you think there is even the slightest chance that they won’t see it?”

“But why is the rum gone?” Jack repeated.

The Phoenix shook her head. She could see the logic in Elizabeths actions though it was probably a good idea to have saved a couple of bottles for the pirated. The blonde haired human sat on the sand, watching the sea “just wait, give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye open and you’ll see white sails on that horizon”, Elizabeth said.

Jack threw his hands up in the air, frustrated and annoyingly sober. “She burned the rum”, he told the Phoenix again. The Time Lady patted him on the arm and went to go rouse her companion.

“Wha?” Mickey mumbled eyeing her sleepily as she shook him awake.

“Time to get up”, the Phoenix said. Mickey groaned as he sat up.

“Ugh I drank too much…” he groaned, holding his head. The Time Lady took out a small phial from her skirt pocket.

“This’ll help with the hangover”, she said and Mickey drank it.

“Thanks”, he said and then sniffed “is something burning?”

“Yeah. The rum”, the Phoenix replied “Elizabeth decided to use it all to make a smoke signal”.

Mickey made a face “How mad is Jack?” he asked.

“Very”, the Phoenix answered.

“How mad would he be if he knew that you had some left?” Mickey questioned, holding up her bottle. It was half empty.

“Let’s see”, the Phoenix answered taking the bottle from him. She went back to where the pirate had been standing, hiding the bottle behind her back in case Elizabeth happened to spot it. Luckily she was too focused on watching the sea. Unfortunately Jack was no longer standing there. She looked around and saw him walking off in a huff. The Time Lady raced after him.

“Leave me be Nyx”, Jack said when she joined him.

“Ok. I guess I’ll have to finish this rum all on me onesie”, the Phoenix said. She raised the bottle to her lips only to have Jack snatch it from her. “You’re welcome”, she said as he took a large swig. Jack squinted in the distance and spotted a large ship.

“There’ll be no living with her after this”, he complained.

“Nope. Not at all”, the Phoenix agreed.

\------------------------

“This is insane!” Mickey exclaimed as he fought alongside the Phoenix, their swords clashing with the cursed pirates “zombie pirates!”

Thanks to Elizabeth’s smoke signal, they were saved by Commodore Norrington only to end up in their current predicament, on the Isle de Muerta, fighting for their lives against immortal opponents. “When you’ve been with me long enough” the Phoenix dodged a swing of a sword “you’ll learn that there’s always something weirder out there”. She disarmed her opponent and kicked him away.

Mickey stopped and looked at her, incredulous “weirder than zombie pirates?!” he exclaimed. The Phoenix threw her sword at his opponents head making him stumble back.

“Yes. Much weirder”, she confirmed. She walked over the pirate, yanked her sword out of his head before she chopped it off.

“If anyone at home heard about this I would be thrown in the nut house”, Mickey remarked as they backed away from the headless pirate, who lumbered clumsily towards them, arms out.

“If that happened Mickey, I would break you out”, the Phoenix promised “Ohana, remember?” Mickey grinned at her. An angry shout got their attention, it was the other pirate, the one the Time Lady had kicked away. They exchanged grins, raised their swords and launched into battle.

Elsewhere in the cave, two more fights were ensuing. Jack vs Barbosa. Will and Elizabeth vs three zombie pirates. That is until the Phoenix and Mickey got the attention of the one of the pirates, leaving it two vs two.

The fights continued until Jack sliced his palm open while holding the coin he’d taken from the chest and he tossed it to Will, who caught it. Barbosa pointed his gun at Elizabeth making her stop moving. Two gunshots rang out, one from Barbosa’s gun, the other from Jack’s. The former’s shot completely missed its target as the Phoenix pushed Elizabeth out of the way just in time, catching the round in the shoulder. The latter’s shot hit its mark perfectly, Barbosa’s heart.

He turned to Jack “ten years you’ve carried that pistol and now you waste your shot”, he said.

“He didn’t waste it”, Will said from where he stood next to the stone chest. Barbosa spun around in time to watch the blood covered coins drop into the chest with the other pieces. He dropped his sword and pulled back his shirt to see blood starting to come through his undershirt.

“I feel…cold”, Barbosa breathed and fell backwards on the pile of treasure, dead. Mickey rushed over to the Phoenix, helping her up, mindful of her injury.

“I’ll live”, she assured him, pressing a hand to her shoulder, seeing his worried look. Mickey glanced to the body of Barbosa.

“So it’s over then”, he stated and the Time Lady nodded.

“Yeah, it’s over”, she confirmed.


	10. Chapter 10

“How many rooms do you have?” Mickey asked as the Phoenix took him on a tour of the ship. She decided to show him around after the way he had handled himself whilst helping Jack and Will. If he’d been more of a hinderance than a help, she would be taking him home but the human impressed her. _I bet Rose would have a major freak out_ she thought at she walked.

“You know, I’m not sure. I’ve had the TARDIS for centuries and I’m pretty sure that I’ve not seen all the rooms. Though I’m almost positive she adds more with every regeneration”, the Phoenix told him “oh, right…you don’t know about that”, she added, seeing his confused look.

“No, I don’t”, Mickey admitted “don’t think I know anything about your species other than the name and the TARDIS”.

“Well, I’m gonna have to rectify that, aren’t I?” the Phoenix looped an arm around his “I cannot have a companion of mine not knowing about my species. In fact, I’ll do one better. I will give you the special Companion 101 that I give everyone who’s travelled with me”.

“Does that include how the TARDIS works?” Mickey asked, remembering how he’d expressed interest in the Doctor’s ship but the Time Lord was rather rude to him, saying he wouldn’t understand.

“Mickey, by the time I’m done, you’ll know the dos and don’ts of both space and time travel. You will also know handy little tricks to get yourself out of any situation that you may accidently wind up in. And you will most definitely know how my ship works, including how to fix AND pilot”, the Phoenix said “you know, what? Your first lesson will be flying the TARDIS” and with that she pulled him down the corridor towards the console room.

“So, where do we start?” Mickey asked, excitedly.

“With the basics”, the Time Lady replied and then launched into the lesson, Mickey following along as best as he could. As the minutes passed, he found himself getting really involved, asking questions and being allowed to demonstrate what he’d learned.

“This is so fun!” he declared.

“Good, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself”, the Phoenix said with a smile. She was actually enjoying herself too. It was nice to have a companion in the TARDIS after so long…

“What n-“ Mickey broke off when he looked up to see that she was crying “Nix, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing”, the Time Lady replied.

“Then why are you crying?” Mickey questioned. The Phoenix touched her cheek, looking down at her fingers at the wetness. She backed up to sit down on the jump seat, more tears falling. Mickey joined her, silently placing a hand over hers. The Phoenix looked at him and everything just came pouring out. She told him all about the Time War and what she’d been through in it. “Oh, Nix”, he said quietly “I’m so sorry”. His heart broke at the hell she had experienced, by the hands of her own people no doubt.

The Phoenix sniffled, dropping her head onto his shoulder. “Thank you”, she whispered. She hadn’t meant to tell him anything about the War until she was ready to share but it did feel like a big weight off her shoulders knowing that someone else besides Jack knows what she went through.

“I have an idea”, Mickey said, standing up, holding out his hand to her “come with me”. The Phoenix took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. The man led her down to the simulation room where they entered to see that they were on a beach. “Rum?” he offered picking up a bottle that was on the sand.

“Uh…sure”, the Phoenix replied, taking a sip of liquid. Before long they were dancing around a fire, singing _A Pirates Life_ at the top of their lungs. “And really bad eggs!” she shouted.

“Wooo!” Mickey cheered, drunkenly and laughed. The Phoenix giggled at how he pranced about. She knew he was trying to make her feel better and it was actually working. “I’m Captain Jack Sparrow!” he declared in a very bad pirate voice before falling to the ground. The Time Lady shook her head and pried the bottle out of his fingers. “Nooo I want my rum!” he pouted, making grabby hands.

“Nope”, the Phoenix said holding it out of his way “you’re drunk”.

“No ship Sherlock!” Mickey slurred. The brunette flopped down onto the sand next to him, flicking her sonic at the sky, changing it to night time. “Oh, that’s so cool”, her companion mumbled.

\-------------

“Why did I think it was a good idea again?” the Phoenix said to herself as she chased a drunk Mickey around sands of Woman Wept while the man waved a jar of dirt around shouting a

“I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt!”

The Time Lady heard the sound of the Doctor’s TARDIS appearing but paid no mind as she as still trying to catch Mickey. For someone very drunk, he was running pretty fast. She very nearly collided with him when he suddenly stopped, gaping at the police box on the sand. “There’s a blue box…” he said in amazement. Mickey booped her on the nose, cackled and ran off shouting about his jar of dirt. The Phoenix sighed and ran after him when she noticed Jack step out of the ship along with the Doctor and Rose.

“Jack…” she breathed.

“Hey Nix!” Mickey shouted, making her turn. The three newcomers watched him toss a bucket of water at her. “You’re all wet!” he cackled and ran off. The Phoenix ran after him.

“Uh…what the hell is Mickey doing with her?” Rose demanded watching the pair lark about.

“She probably offered him a trip or two”, the Doctor replied “don’t worry, the Phoenix wont let anything bad happen to him”. As soon as he said that, the pair took out swords and started fighting each other!

“You just had to say that!” Rose snapped at him and rushed towards the duelling duo, not wanting her boyfriend to get hurt. The Doctor and Jack hung back, both knowing that if the blonde wanted to step in, the Time Lady would handle her. “Stop this! It’s insane!” she cried “you’re gonna hurt Mickey, you lunatic”.

“Oh shut it, wicked witch”, Mickey shot at her, making Rose feel rather offended “I’m having fun”.

“Just lighten up, Rose. He’s fine”, the Phoenix said calmly.

“The hell he isn’t”, Rose said and grabbed her wrist. In a swift movement, Mickey was on the floor and the Time Lady’s sword was pointed at the human.

“Don’t ever do that again”, the Phoenix said in a low angry tone, making Rose step back “I know what I’m doing. Mickey wouldn’t have been hurt. But you what you just did could have gotten you injured, you stupid girl!”

“Doctor!” Rose shouted, glancing back at him with a fearful look on her face.

The Doctor put his hands up “Sorry Rose, you’re on your own”, he said. Jack bit his lip, stopping himself from voicing his thoughts about how turned on he was at watching the Time Lady put Rose in her place. Actually just watching her kick ass full stop did that to him.

Trembling, Rose turned back to the Phoenix and waited to see what she would do. The Time Lady gave her one last glare before she lowered her sword and turned to Mickey, helping him sit up. “Sorry about that. I didn’t want you accidently harming that moron” she took a small bottle from her pocket, similar to the one she gave him to get rid of the hangover “here, this’ll sober you up”.

“Do I have to?” he pouted.

“Fun’s over Mick. At least for the moment”, the Phoenix told him. Mickey glanced over her shoulder at Rose.

“Bloody fun police”, he groused and drank the liquid. Mickey shuddered as he felt it sobering up. The Phoenix pulled him up where he gave Rose an annoyed look. “Let’s go Nix. I don’t want to be here anymore”, he said and she nodded.

“Nix, wait”, Jack said, catching her arm as she passed “can I talk to you?”

“Sure”, the Phoenix replied and they walked off a ways to talk in private “is this about your memories? Did you find them?”

“Uh no…I didn’t. Haven’t even started looking yet”, Jack confessed “Rose mentioned that you often showed up around the Doctor so I decided to stick around with them that way I…could see you more. I’ve missed you”.

“How long has it been?” the Phoenix questioned.

“Weeks I think”, Jack answered “but even 5 minutes away from you feels like a lifetime”, he admitted “I know, I know that’s stupidly corny”.

“Actually its not”, the Phoenix said, surprising him “it feels like that for me too sometimes”. 

The Doctor watched the pair with a small smile on his face. He honestly had no idea anything was going on between them. Well, he could tell that they were close but didn’t really know how close until now. He was actually pretty grateful to Jack as it meant his best friend has someone else was looking out for her.

“Mickey, why are you travelling with her?” Rose asked.

“Because I want to”, Mickey replied “She’s actually pretty fun. And she’s even thought me how to pilot the TARDIS…” he trailed off when he noticed Rose wasn’t even paying attention, she was looking at the Phoenix and Jack who appeared to be having a tender moment. “You know what? It doesn’t matter, I’m Nix’s companion and I don’t need your approval”, he said sharply, earning him a shocked look from Rose “hopefully next time we meet, you’ll have an attitude adjustment”. He walked off, leaving the blonde staring after him with her mouth hanging open.

“Do you think I could see you again at some point?” Jack asked the Phoenix “maybe soon?”

“Yeah, I’d like that very much”, the Time Lady answered “How about Hawaii? Three days from now”.

The American smiled, kissing her softly “can’t wait”, he said.


	11. Chapter 11

The Phoenix leant against the wooden railing of the little hut, looking out over the sand. She smiled when she saw the Doctor’s TARDIS appear. The brunette headed down the steps as the doors opened. Jack exited the ship at a rather quick pace, running across the sand. “God I’ve missed you!” he proclaimed as he hugged her tightly “three days was too long”.

“But worth it”, the Phoenix said.

Jack smiled “absolutely”, he agreed “now, how long do we have?”

“I told Mickey that I’d pick him and Goose up in about a week”, the Time Lady replied.

“A week, huh?” Jack remarked, scooping her up, bridal style “Well, we better not waste any time then”. She laughed as he raced toward the hut, practically jumping up the three steps and paused outside the threshold.

“What is it?” the Phoenix asked.

“Nothing, I’m just savouring the moment”, Jack replied “its been a while since I’ve done this”. He stepped over the threshold and set her down, closing the door to the hut. “So…” he placed his hands on her hips “what do you want to do?”

“I want to kiss you”, the brunette replied, doing just that. She pulled back after a moment “Jack, I’d like to try again”, she declared.

“Are you sure you’re ready, Nix?” Jack asked “cos I’m happy to wait as long as you want”.

The Phoenix nodded “I’m ready”, she said softly “I want to start our relationship again. What about you?”

“Definitely”, Jack replied “more than ready”. He kissed her this time, deepening it as he guided her to the nearest wall pressing himself against her.

“So good”, the Phoenix murmured, eyes fluttering closed as his lips made their way to her neck.

“I can make you feel good in other ways”, Jack offered, his voice humming against her skin, making her shiver.

“Yes, please”, the Time Lady said, opening her eyes “and maybe…” she twisted them around so that Jack was against the wall “I can make you feel good too”.

The man smirked “is that a promise?” he asked.

“Honey, that’s a guarantee”, the Phoenix answered and Jack’s grin widened. He kissed her for the third time. Without breaking it, Jack lifted her up and carried her over to the counter. He set her down on it, slipping between her legs.

“This is going to be a week to remember”, Jack vowed “that I promise”.

“It better be”, the Phoenix said “now, less talking…” she plucked at his shirt “more doing”.

“Yes ma’am”, Jack said, proceeding to do just that.

\--------------

The Phoenix stood waist deep in the cool water, a smile on her face as she thought about the last few days. Jack came up behind and put his arms around her bare waist, settling his hands on her stomach. “What are you thinking about?” he asked, pressing a kiss to her earlobe.

“Just the last few days”, the Phoenix replied “it’s been nothing short of amazing”.

“That it has”, Jack agreed. The pair watched the sun start to set, the shifting colours in the sky making the place even more romantic.

“I’ve heard people say that they have places that are like heaven to them”, the Phoenix said after a moment “I think this is mine”.

“Mine is wherever you are”, Jack told her “again I know that’s corny but I…” he broke off when the Phoenix kissed him “ok, shutting up now”, he mumbled against her lips.

As the first stars appeared in the sky, the pair curled up in a deckchair close to a small fire that they’d built. Well, Jack was insistent on both building and lighting it but when he had trouble igniting the wood, the Phoenix did it for him with her powers. “Can this be our special place?” Jack asked as he played with her hair.

“Of course it can”, the Phoenix replied “in fact I already have it in my name. Nyx Harkness”.

“Nyx _Harkness?”_ Jack repeated, feeling his ego boost a bit more at the fact she used his name “really”.

“Yeah, I made a up story about the hut and surrounding area being for our honeymoon and then for romantic getaways”, the Phoenix explained “that’s ok, right?”

“Its more than ok”, Jack answered giving her a loving kiss “in fact, I’ll show you just how ‘ok’ I am with it”. The Time Lady giggled as he scooped her up, carrying her into the hut.

\--------------

The next morning, Jack was the first to wake. Usually the Phoenix was already up and about, having not much in the way of sleep so this was a rare occurrence. He reached out, lightly tracing patterns onto her skin. “Mmm that’s nice…” the Time Lady hummed, opening her eyes “morning”.

“Good morning”, Jack greeted back.

“So, what do you wanna do today?” the Phoenix asked, shifting closer to him.

“I was thinking that we could have lazy morning and maybe have a little fun”, Jack replied with a suggestive look. The brunette smiled and climbed on top of him.

“You mean this kind of fun?” she questioned, rolling her hips with a teasing grin. Jack just smirked, placing his hands on her hips.

“This is the best kind”, he replied. He pulled her down for a kiss when they both heard a tap at the window. “Did you hear that?” he asked.

“Yeah”, the Phoenix answered. She got off him, ignoring his noise of complaint as she walked to the window. She pulled the curtain back a little to see an amulet hovering outside the window. It was the twin to the one she’d given to Bobby in case he ever needed to get in touch with her. “Looks like our fun is put on pause for a bit”, she remarked as she used her powers to draw the amulet inside without opening the window.

“Aw…can’t it wait?” Jack complained with a pout “I have a little something that needs your attention first”. He gestured to his duvet covered lower region.

“Yeah, it can wait. Its only the Winchester boys needing my help…again”, the Phoenix said, dropping the amulet onto the carpet. She headed back to the bed, sliding under the covers.

\-----------

“Bobby, those boys better be in serious danger and I mean apocalyptic danger cos you just spoiled a very nice week I was having”, the Phoenix groused as she walked into his house, followed by Jack “mostly sleeping with this sexy guy”, she gestured to him. The American felt his ego get another boost from her compliment.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb you but I got another of those notes”, Bobby explained, holding the paper out to her. Jack moved closer to the Phoenix, placing a hand in the small of her back, peering at the page.

“I don’t understand it”, he stated “I thought the TARDIS would translate everything”.

“With a few exceptions, including my language”, the Phoenix told him “I did tell you this before, remember?”

“Oh, I must’ve forgotten on the account of the incredibly beautiful Time Lady next to me”, Jack said, kissing her temple “so, what does it say? Is it about them Winchester boys?”

“Unfortunately yes”, the Phoenix answered with a sigh “looks like I’m heading to Indiana to deal with a…” she frowned “does that say fugly scarecrow?” she questioned “yeah it does!” she laughed “that is so weird”.

“Looks like we’re going to Indiana”, Jack said.

“Yep”, the Phoenix said, tucking the note away.

“Good luck you two!” Bobby called after them as they left “not like they’ll need it”.

\---------

“So this is what you do? Show up and save these guys?” Jack asked as they walked through the orchard, the Time Lady holding her bow at the ready.

“Sometimes”, the Phoenix answered “this would be the third time I’ve had to do it. Hope it doesn’t become a habit”.

“Would it be…” Jack trailed off when they heard

“Oh! I take everything back I said. I’m so happy to see you”

“That’s Dean. Come on!” the Phoenix said, taking off toward the voice. Jack chased after her. The came across the Winchesters and a frightened young woman. Well, came across isn’t quite right…running into was more like it.

“Nix, did you see a scarecrow?” Sam asked.

“Uh no”, the Time Lady replied.

“That’s why we are here, looking for a scarecrow”, Jack added.

“Who the hell are you?” Dean demanded.

“This is my boyfriend Jack Harkness”, the Phoenix answered.

“Uh…do you think we could go?” Emily spoke up “cos I really wanna go”.

“Yeah, Emily. We’re going”, Dean said. He grabbed her hand and pushed past the Phoenix and Jack. The two time travellers and Sam were quick to follow them. When the four of them reached a clearing, several humans were waiting for them.

“Back up all of you!” the Phoenix ordered stepping in front of the humans, pointing her weapon at the others.

“You can’t kill all of us, little girl”, Harley said “not before we get you”.

The Phoenix slowly lowered the bow, noticing something in the background “I don’t need to kill anyone. But I don’t need to save you either”, she said “guys get in close, now”, she ordered to the brothers, her lover and Emily. They were quick to do so and she erected a fire barrier. And just in time too as the scarecrow made itself known. It didn’t stay long, only needing two of the people as sacrifices. Once it was gone, the rest of the people scarpered.

The Phoenix dissipated the barrier. “That was it?” Jack asked, a tad disappointed. He had hope for a little more of a fight especially since it had interrupted their lovely week in Paradise. “We left Hawaii for this?”

“Yeah, we did”, the Time Lady replied. She turned to the Winchesters and Emily “you guys ok?”

“Fine but how did you do…” Emily mimed the action that the Phoenix had done to make the fire barrier “that?”

“Magic”, the brunette answered “and speaking of… Jack we better get back if we want to carry on making our own magic”.

Jack smirked, knowing what she meant “absolutely”, he agreed. He took her hand and they walked off, leaving the others behind. “Still wished I could’ve seen you kick some ass”, he mumbled.

“I’m sure you will soon”, the Phoenix assured him.

“Hope so”, Jack said winding his arm around her waist.


	12. Chapter 12

“I hate this part”, Jack mumbled as he and the Phoenix waited on the sand, the former playing with the latter’s fingers.

“Me too”, the Phoenix said with a sigh.

“How about we spend another week here?” Jack suggested as the Doctor’s TARDIS started to appear “and maybe another and another…”

“That’s tempting, believe me”, the Phoenix said “but we can’t. Not at the moment. Maybe in a few weeks”.

“Let’s make that definitely in a few weeks”, Jack said “or less cos I really don’t want to be away from you”.

“Me neither”, the Phoenix admitted. The man placed his hands on her waist, ignoring the ship that was now solid.

“Then let’s just stay here. You, me in our little piece of heaven”, Jack said.

“Heaven”, the Phoenix repeated quietly as he leant towards her. Their lips had barely brushed together when Rose piped up.

“Jack come on we gotta go!”

Jack groaned, dropping his head on her shoulder “please don’t subject me to her”, he begged.

“Honey, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, the Time Lady said, running her fingers through his hair. He groaned again.

“Not fair”, Jack complained, lifting his head.

“Life is hardly fair but at least we got each other”, the Phoenix said, trying to show him the bright side to the situation.

“And that’ll never change”, Jack added.

“Definitely not”, the brunette agreed and they kissed. Over by the TARDIS, Rose gagged at the sight of the two of them making out. She couldn’t help feel rather jealous of what they had. The blonde couldn’t understand what Jack saw in the Time Lady. She was rude and didn’t seem to care about hurting people. Plus she was super irresponsible.

“I love you”, the Phoenix said softly as they parted.

“Love you more”, Jack countered. He glanced at the TARDIS “sure there’s no way we can stay?” he asked.

“Go on, getting going”, the Phoenix said, gently pushing him towards the blue box. Jack started towards it, only to go back and give her a kiss that made her want to reconsider letting him go. The Time Lady shook her head and walked off to where her TARDIS was parked. She’d see him again soon enough.

\---------------

“Are you really, really sure about this?” Mickey asked the Phoenix. She had picked both him and Goose up from his house, only to be told by the Time Lady that she was letting him pilot the ship on his own.

“Yeah, of course”, the brunette said “I’ll take over if it gets too bumpy but I think you’re ready”.

“Cool”, Mickey said. He started to go through the steps that the Phoenix had showed him during her lessons. “What’s that?” he asked pointing to a light that started to flash.

“Fuel indicator”, the Phoenix replied “she needs to refuel”. Which was a bit of a surprise considering that the ship had been sitting on the beach for a week without being used.

“What do we need, diesel or unleaded?” Mickey joked making the Time Lady laugh.

“Close”, she replied “wanna help me get her back to Earth?”

Mickey smiled at her and the pair got to work piloting the TARDIS through the time vortex back to his home planet. There was a thump signalling that the TARDIS had landed. “Right, it’ll take about a day for her to refuel”, the Phoenix said flicking a few switches “so I think a bit of exploration is in order to pass the time”.

“Hold on!” Mickey called as she strode towards the doors “not to sound out of line or anything but shouldn’t you get changed?”

The Phoenix glanced down at her outfit. She was still wearing the dress from Hawaii which was lower cut at the front than she would usually wear with a slit in the side. “Why?” she asked “its not the strangest thing I’ve worn. I once wore a short toga with a pair of bunny slippers to meet the Queen” Mickey blinked at her, surprised “granted I had come from ancient Greece and my feet were hurting from those silly sandals. Liz Two was alright about it…though she does know who and what I am”.

“So…you’re gonna stay like that then?” Mickey asked, knowing her answer.

“Yep”, the Time Lady answered “if I get looks, I’d ignore them cos I’m involved with someone. Now! Shall we go explore…” she glanced at the scanner “Cardiff?”

“Sure”, Mickey replied. There was a meow behind them and they glanced back to see Goose standing there, looking at them expectedly. “You can come too”, she said and he padded forward, brushing her body against her boot. The trio left the TARDIS, the Doctor, Rose and Jack leaving the Time Lord’s at the same time.

“Nix!” Jack said delighted to see her.

“Hey J-“ the Phoenix was cut off when he kissed her “blimey, you really missed me” she commented “its only been a few minutes”.

“For you maybe but for me its been a couple of weeks”, Jack explained.

“Ah”, the Phoenix nodded “Mickey, this is the guy I’m involved with, Captain Jack Harkness”, she added to her companion.

The man laughed “we should hide the rum then”, he stated making her chuckle.

“Something I’m missing?” Jack questioned.

“We met a pirate also called Captain Jack”, the Phoenix answered.

“Small world”, Jack commented.

“Oh! And this is Goose”, Mickey piped up, nodding to the Flerken “she’s cool”.

Rose snickered “Goose? Really?”

The Phoenix looked at her unimpressed “Yes. Goose. That is her name. And I wouldn’t laugh if I were you. She’s a Flerken”.

An astonished expression appeared on Jack’s face “So, this is Goose”, he said, rather excited. The Phoenix had told him that she had a Flerken onboard the ship, whom he really, really wanted to meet since he had never met that kind of feline before. “Can I?” he asked gesturing to Goose.

“Sure”, the Phoenix replied “be careful though. She’s a bit wary around new people”, she warned. Jack crouched down, holding his hand out. He smiled when Goose rubbed her head against his fingers. “She likes you”, the Phoenix commented, kneeling down to give the little girl a scratch “you’re one of the few people she likes straight away”. She looked up at Rose “Do you want to pet her?” she questioned.

Rose shook her head “no thank you”, she said “rather not touch the alien cat”.

“Suit yourself”, the Phoenix said, not too offended. If she pissed off Goose, the Flerken could eat her for all she cared. She stood up as did Jack “so what brings you guys to Cardiff?”

“Refuelling”, the Doctor replied “You?”

“Same”, the Phoenix replied “What’ll we do for 24 hours then while we wait?”

“I don’t know about you guys but I would love to have some quality time with my girl”, Jack said, winding an arm around her waist and kissing her temple.

“I like that idea very much”, the Phoenix agreed.

“Do you think we could get some food? I’m hungry”, Mickey spoke up.

“I’m a little peckish too actually”, the brunette admitted “how about food first and then…” she glanced at Jack “you and I can have some quality time?”

Jack responded with a kiss.

\-----------

“I swear, six feet tall and with big tusks…” Jack insisted as he rubbed the Phoenix’s arm as she sat on his lap in the café. Well, she had tried to sit in her own seat next to him but he just pulled her onto his lap and she didn’t bother to move. This was actually much better in her opinion.

“You're lying through your teeth!” the Doctor said.

“I'd have gone bonkers! That's the word - bonkers!” Rose cried, trying to push aside her jealousy she was feeling.

“I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean tusks! And it's woken, and it's not happy”, Jack continued “And we're standing there, fifteen of us, naked…”

“Naked?!” Rose exclaimed. The Phoenix just rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She’d heard this story before.

“And I'm like, oh, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me. And then it roars, and we are running. Oh my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say…”

“I knew we should’ve turned left”, the Time Lady said before he could.

“That's my line!” Jack stated.

“Yeah well, you shouldn’t tell a story that I already know like a dozen times”, the Phoenix countered “you need better material. That one’s boring”.

Jack looked at her, offended “I thought you loved that story!”

“No, it IS boring”, the brunette insisted “but the storyteller is far from it". Rose made a face as they kissed again. Mickey politely looked away while the Doctor's attention was drawn to a newspaper that a man on the other table was holding. He snatched it from him.

“And I was having such a nice day”, the Doctor complained.

“What’s wrong?” the Phoenix questioned, concerned. The Time Lord showed them the newspaper. “You’ve got to be kidding me”, the brunette complained. While she wasn’t involved in the thing at Downing Street, she was most definitely aware of it. She knew who and what the culprits were, including their human disguises. “That’s just put a damper on the day”

“I don’t follow”, Jack said, confused.

“Cardiff’s mayor is a Slitheen”, the Phoenix’s eyes darkened, getting up from his lap “and I am going to have a talk with her”. Jack and the Doctor exchanged glances as she stormed out of the café. They new that look all too well, the Phoenix was about to unleash her fury on the alien. The two males ran after her, leaving Mickey and Rose scrambling to catch up.

\---------------------

Anyone who saw the Phoenix marching up the steps of City Hall wearing a pretty summer dress and holding a sword in her hand be laughing, not when she had an expression on her face that told them not to mess with her. Even Rose was finding her rather scary. “All of you stay here”, she ordered “I’ll deal with the Slitheen” and with that she strode off to find Margaret’s office.

“Jack, she said to stay”, Rose called when he went after the Time Lady.

“Rose, Nix is my _girlfriend_ ”, the American stated, making the blonde bristle with anger at the label “No way is she dealing with this on her own”.

“I’m with him”, Mickey agreed before hurrying after the man.

“She’s my friend”, the Doctor added, following suit. He knew that look on her face, he had a similar one when he became the Oncoming Storm. And he was very aware that when she was like this, it wasn’t good for the person or being on the receiving end.

“This is madness!” Rose cried. It was completely insane to not do what the pissed off Time Lady said but she followed them anyway.

“Uh, excuse me, you’re not allowed to go in there”, Idris Hopper said to the Phoenix when she stormed up to the office door. She just threw him a look which made him shrink back, afraid. Inside the office, Margaret jumped several feet into to the air when the door was flung open and a very angry Time Lady stood there.

“Hello Margaret”, she said calmly which was even more unnerving.

“W-who are you?” Margaret stammered, trying to appear unafraid and failing.

“I’m the Phoenix”, the Time Lady answered “I think you met my friend before, the Doctor. So…are there any more or is it just you?”

“I-it’s just me”, Margaret replied. Mock sympathy appeared on the Time Lady’s face.

“Aw the poor little lamb is all alone”, she mocked “and decided to become Mayor. Not at all suspicious. What are you up to?”

“Nothing! I swear”, Margaret insisted. She jumped when the Time Lady jammed her blade into the table near to were the Slitheen’s hand was resting.

“Liar”, the Phoenix snapped.

“I assure you, I’m not lying”, Margaret repeated. The Time Lady narrowed her eyes at her.

“Prove it”, she challenged. The Slitheen got up from the chair as the door to the office opened. “Told you guys to stay put”, the Phoenix said to the Doctor and the others.

“We didn’t want you to deal with her own your own”, Jack said, stepping forward. The Phoenix’s angry expression softened.

“Thank you”, she said. The Phoenix turned back to Margaret “Now, why don’t you prove to us, you’re not up to anything bad”, she said. The disguised Slitheen took the group to the Exhibition Room where a model of a power station sat.

“A nuclear power station”, the Phoenix stated.

“I told you I wasn’t doing anything bad”, Margaret told her “A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways”.

“So it’s a coincidence that its right on top of the rift then”, the Doctor said.

“What rift would that be?” Margaret asked ‘innocently’.

“A rift in space and time”, Jack replied “If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go…schwwwuphboom!” the American made an exploding motion with his hands.

The Doctor inspected the model “This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity”, he said. That had the Phoenix shoving the Slitheen against the wall, sword against her throat.

“Not up to anything bad, huh? Looks like you’re trying to destroy the planet again!” she said angrily.

“Shouldn’t we stop her?” Rose asked the Doctor quietly.

“Its best to let her get it out”, the Doctor admitted. There was no stopping the Phoenix when she was like this and in all honesty, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“You’re not going to get away with it Margaret. Earth is protected by me and the Doctor”, the Phoenix continued “I think should give the Judoon a call. They’ll know what to do you. Or maybe I’ll take you back to your home planet…”

“Please take me to the Judoon”, Margret pleaded “I’ll be executed slowly…painfully if I go back to Raxacoricofallapatorius”.

“No more than you deserve”, the Phoenix said.

“But why would she do try to destroy the Earth again? A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself”, Mickey pointed out.

“Oh, but she's clever”, the Doctor remarked. He prised off the middle section of the model and turned it over to reveal a circuit. “Fantastic”, he stated.

“Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?” Jack asked making the Phoenix look over.

“Couldn't have put it better myself”, the Doctor said.

“Keep an eye on her”, the Phoenix said to Mickey, who nodded. Goose who’d been watching the proceeds quietly, padded over to join Mickey in Slitheen watch. The Phoenix sheathed her sword and moved over to the Doctor.

“This is quite advanced”, she commented, taking it from him and inspected it “you stole this”, she added, glancing at Margaret.

“Is it a weapon?” Rose asked.

The Phoenix shook her head “no, it’s just transport”, she answered.

Jack took it from and set it onto the floor “The extrapolator protects you with a force field so when the power station explodes, you’d be safe. You can ride the resulting shock wave all the way out of the solar system”, he explained, miming surfing.

“And it would've worked. I’d have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilisation”, Margaret said bitterly.

“You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?” Mickey asked, incredulous.

“Like stepping on an anthill”, Margaret shrugged. Goose hissed at the Slitheen and the Phoenix scooped her up.

“No, you can’t eat her. As much as I would like you too”, the Time Lady said to the Flerken “the punishment doesn’t fit the crime”.

“How'd you think of the name?” the Doctor suddenly asked, now eyeing the posters on the wall.

“What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh”, Margaret replied.

“I know, but how did you think of it?” the Doctor pressed.

“I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good. Does it matter?” the Slitheen questioned, confused. She didn’t know what relevance it had to the current situation.

“Blaidd Drwg”, the Doctor muttered frowning at the banner. He knew what that meant, it was a phrase he’d heard and seen several times before.

“What’s wrong?” the Phoenix asked going over to him, Goose still in her arms. Though the Flerken shifted to eye the Slitheen over her shoulder.

“We’ve been seeing that phrase wherever we go”, the Doctor answered “Bad Wolf”.

“How can it be following us?” Rose asked, worried.

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence”, the Doctor assured her. 

“I’ve never heard of something happening like that before”, the Phoenix remarked.

“See? Nothing to worry about”, the Doctor said to Rose.

The Phoenix glanced at Margaret “I think we should get her somewhere secure while we wait to leave”, she said. Goose meowed. “No, Goose you are not going to eat her!”

“Uh…why does she want to eat me?” the Slitheen asked, very worried.

“Cos she’s a Flerken and she really doesn’t like you”, the Phoenix answered.

Margaret’s eyes went comically wide “No!” she exclaimed “I’ll do anything just keep that thing away from me”.

“So who’s ship are we taking her to?” Jack questioned.

“Mine”, the Phoenix replied “got the perfect place for her”.

\-------------------

“Welcome to my TARDIS”, the Phoenix said as she entered the ship. Rose gaped at the interior “Don’t touch anything. I’ll be back in a minute”.

“This ship is impossible”, Margaret breathed trying to take in a much as she could while the Time Lady frog marched her to god knows where “How do you get the outside around the inside?”

“If I told you I’d have to get Goose to eat you”, the Phoenix replied “and I still might do that anyway”.

“Simulation Room?” Margaret said, brows raised when they stopped by a door “doesn’t sound scary”.

The Phoenix simply smirked at her, opened the door and shoved her inside. She closed the door, ignoring the Slitheen’s pleas to let her out. “Seal up the door, I’ll be back in 24 hours”, the Time Lady instructed and the doorway vanished “thanks, old girl”. Goose plonked herself by the wall where the door used to be. “Good girl”, she said stroking her fur.

“Is Margaret secure?” the Doctor asked when she came back to the console room.

“Yup. I put her in the Simulation Room”, the Phoenix replied.

“I’m guessing its not showing her a nice sandy beach”, Mickey stated. She shook her head.

“No, it’s not”, the Phoenix said “she’s currently in a prison cell”.

“Which means we’ve got some time to kill”, Mickey said and she nodded.

“That we do”, the Phoenix confirmed “Mickey, why don’t you do a tour?” she suggested “I’ve got something I need to do”. The Time Lady didn’t wait for a response as she just headed off into the depths of the TARDIS. Jack frowned at her hasty retreat before he followed after her.

The Time Lady wandered through the corridors, not really sure where she was going. All she knew was that she was being drawn to go to one particular place in the ship. The brunette stopped when she found herself outside of a white painted door. She reached up, gently tracing the words carved on the door. “Ah, there you are Nix”, Jack said, appearing in the corridor “I’ve been looking…” he trailed off, finally seeing the door she was standing in front of “I haven’t been here in a while”.

“Me neither”, the Time Lady admitted quietly “I couldn’t not after…that day”.

“Why are you here now?” Jack asked her softly.

“I just felt drawn here”, the Phoenix whispered “I…I have to go in”.

Jack slid his hand in hers “Not alone”, he said. The Phoenix gave him a small smile and turned the handle. She pushed it open and they entered together. The room itself was decorated with a galaxy that stretched around the walls. On the ceiling was a set of constellations that shifted and changed.

There was a painted white crib in the middle of the room and other pieces of furniture was dotted around. Drawers; a rocking chair; changing table etc. The Phoenix crossed over to the crib, reaching down into it and taking the quilt that she had spent days making by hand. She clutched it to her chest, letting out a sob as she did so. Jack took her in his arms as she sank to the carpet, shaking and crying. “Its ok”, he said softly, tears running down his face too “just let it out”.

“Why did our baby have to be taken from us!” she cried “it’s not fair”.

“I know. I know”, Jack said, hugging her tighter. As the couple sat there mourning their child, neither of them realising the life that was being created from within the Time Lady.

\----------

“All of you get ready”, the Phoenix said the next morning to the others “I’ll go get Margaret”.

“I’m coming with you”, Jack said “there’s no way I’m letting you deal with her on your own”, he added when she opened her mouth to argue.

The Time Lady sighed “ok, you can come”, she said “But the three of you stay here and get ready”.

She went to the Simulation Room with Jack where Goose was still sitting there, eyeing the now appeared door. “Go wait with the others”, she said “Jack and can handle her” the Flerken meowed at her “yes I can” she said firmly “now get going”. Goose shot her a look but padded off anyway. “You ready?” she asked, hand on the handle.

“Yep. Go for it”, Jack replied. The Phoenix nodded and pulled the door open. Margaret, who was now out of her skin suit, leapt out at the two of them. Jack yanked the Time Lady out of the way.

“I’m. Not. Going. Home!” the alien exclaimed swinging at the pair. Each time, the Phoenix block or dodging her attacks. Suddenly Margaret fired at poison dart at Jack which the Time Lady was able to snatch out of the air before it hit him. Taking advantage of her distraction, the Slitheen surged forward and grabbed the Phoenix by the neck.

“Nix!” Jack exclaimed rushing forward to help her only to be swatted away. The Phoenix gasped as she was being choked. Brunette then noticed Goose behind the Slitheen “If you know whats good for you, you’ll let me go”, she gasped.

“Never”, Margaret hissed.

“Your funeral”, the Phoenix said. Goose opened her mouth and several tentacles shout out, grabbing the Slitheen. The Time Lady was dropped to the floor and watched as the Flerken swallowed Margaret up. “Should’ve let me go”, the Phoenix said. Goose padded over to her and she stroked him. “Good girl. Now, whatever you do don’t have a Slitheen sized hairball. Not until we get to Raxacoricofallapatorius”, she told her sternly, wagging a finger. Goose just nudged her finger with her nose and she chuckled.

“Man, I’m glad that’s over”, Jack remarked “you ok?” he asked her, checking her neck for bruising. 

“Fine”, the Phoenix answered “still in one piece”.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: reposted due to adding a little to when the Phoenix takes in the heart of the TARDIS**

“Woo hoo!” Mickey whooped as he bounded into the TARDIS “that was so fun”.

The Phoenix laughed “glad you had fun”, she said and set the TARDIS into the time vortex with her companion’s help. As soon as she’d done that, she heard a ringing. The Time Lady picked it up, smiling when she saw the ID. “Hey honey”, she greeted as she answered it “miss me?”

 _“I always miss you”,_ Jack answered. Mickey left the console room deciding to give her some privacy. “ _Do you think I could see you soon? Like in 5 minutes?”_

“You really, really miss me, huh?” she remarked, leaning against the console.

 _“Rose is driving me around the bend. Please save me, Nix”_ , Jack pleaded.

“Of course I’ll…” the Phoenix trailed off, glancing upwards and frowning “oh my god…” she breathed when a swirling red mist appeared. Her nose caught a scent, which sent alarm bells ringing.

 _“Nix, what’s wrong?”_ Jack asked.

“I’ll have to call you back”, the Phoenix replied and hastily hung up, tossing the phone to the floor. She raced across the carpet towards the doorway to the rest of her ship, shouting

“Mickey! We got trouble!”

The Phoenix barely reached the threshold when everything exploded!

\-----------

Mickey groaned as he came to. He rubbed his head and blinked, frowning at his surroundings. It looked like he was in a cupboard of some sort. He gave the door a push, shoving it harder when it wouldn’t budge. Mickey stumbled out into the TARDIS corridor, the lights flickering and bits sparking. “Nix!” he shouted and took off “Nix!” he shouted again when he came across the Time Lady, unconscious and pinned beneath a beam. Goose was lying next to her mistress, looking at her worriedly. Mickey grabbed the wooden beam and heaved it off her. “Oh god”, he breathed seeing the extent of her injuries.

“Mickey”, the Phoenix groaned.

“Don’t move, you’re badly hurt”, Mickey said, stopping her from sitting up.

“Believe it or not, I have much worse”, the Time Lady gritted out as she pushed herself to her feet. Mickey grabbed her to arm steady her when her legs buckled. “Stay here”, she ordered, noticing the red mist hovering in the air “that thing is mine”. Mickey watched her limp after the substance.

“I guess we’ll stay here then”, he said to Goose, sitting down on the ground.

The Phoenix chased after the red mist on two feet, not quite trusting herself to change into her bird form with the injuries she was sporting. “If you wanna help, now’s the time”, she said to the TARDIS. The ship let out a pained hum and a door appeared with a button next to it. The Phoenix slapped the button and the mist was sucked out of the TARDIS. “And stay out!” she shouted shutting the door. The Phoenix sank to the floor, groaning, in a lot of pain.

\-----------------

“Oh the was not fun”, Jack mumbled as he came around. He opened his eyes to find himself an examination sofa in a white, clinical style room. In front of him were two female droids. “Sorry…nice to meet you, ladies, but where exactly…” he broke off jumping off the piece of furniture when he noticed the Phoenix lying on the floor behind the droids “Nix!”

He dropped to the floor next to her, his hands hovering over her injured body. “What the hell did you do to her?!”

“We didn’t do anything”, Trin-e told him.

“She arrived like that”, Zu-Zana added.

“I don’t believe you”, Jack said, standing up, glowering at the bots “what did you do!”

“We didn’t do anything”, Trin-e repeated “now hold still, we're giving you a brand new image”.

“No!” Jack shouted “I don’t want a new image!”

“Well, tough you’re about to get one”, Zu-Zana retorted “Just stand still and let the Defabricator work its magic”.

Jack opened his mouth to argue when a beam was fired at him, removing all his clothing. “Hey! I said I didn’t want it!”

The droids ignored his protests and with another flash, he was wearing white shirt and dark trousers. “Once we've got an outfit, we can look at the face. Ever thought about cosmetic surgery?” Trin-e asked.

“I don’t need any cosmetic surgery”, Jack answered, crossly “I’m quite happy with the way I look”. Pre-Phoenix him would’ve been quite happy to have a flirt with anything but now…now it was all different. He didn’t flirt like he used to with anyone besides the Time Lady.

“I think you do”, Zu-Zana insisted and Trin-e started up the chainsaw on her arm “I think you'd look good with a dog's head”. A large pair of scissors start up and Jack eyed them both, warily.

“Or maybe no head at all. That would be so outrageous”, Trin-e added.

“And we could stitch your legs to the middle of your chest”, Zu-Zana put in.

“Nothing is too extreme. It's to die for”, Trin-e finished. Suddenly her head was blasted off!

“No one lays a finger on my boyfriend”, the Phoenix growled, standing up angrily. She destroyed Zu-Zana with a blast of phoenix fire too. She lowered her hand and collapsed, Jack managing to catch her before she hit the floor. “Nice catch”, she commented, tiredly.

“What did they do to you?” Jack asked.

“They didn’t do anything”, the Phoenix answered “it was this…red mist. It-it made the TARDIS explode and Mickey…” her eyes widened “Mickey!” she cried jumping up and promptly fell back into Jack’s arms “I have to find him and Goose! If I were brought here then they must be too”.

“And we’ll find them, I promise but first you need to rest”, Jack said.

“But I…”

“No, you rest”, Jack repeated, firmly. He picked her up and carried her over to the sofa that he’d woken up on. “Sorry”, he said with a somewhat apologetic expression when she let out noise in pain when he laid her down on it.

“It’s ok”, the Phoenix mumbled “it’ll just take a while to heal that’s all. Maybe we can go back to Hawaii once this is all over. I could do with another vacation”.

“You and me both”, Jack agreed “Now you, stay”, he said sternly “please”, he added in a softer tone.

“Ok, I will”, the Phoenix promised, closing her eyes. 

Jack walked over to the Defabricator and started to pull it apart. Every so often he’d glance at the Phoenix as he worked. There was a beep and he looked back at the weapon his hands “Compatible systems. Just align the wave signature. Attaboy! Got myself a gun”, he declared with a grin. Now that he had a way to defend not only himself but the Phoenix too which was the only thing that mattered, especially in her injured state. Jack went back to the Time Lady, setting the weapon down on the floor and slipped her hand into his.

Eventually she stirred “Jack”, she whispered, tightening her hand around his.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

“Like I had a beam dropped on top of me and was almost blown up”, The Time Lady replied, sitting up “but I’ll be fine”. Jack stood up, helping her to her feet “nice gun”, she remarked.

“Thanks. Figured it might come in handy”, Jack said.

“It definitely will be”, the Phoenix agreed “I’m not up to full strength and I doubt I will be for some time”. Jack picked up with gun with one hand and wrapped his free arm around her waist, leading her to the door he’d spotted.

“No doorhandle. Great”, the man complained.

“That’s no problem”, the Phoenix said “just keep walking”.

“Uh…ok”, Jack said and proceeded to do just that. He was surprised that they were able to walk through the door. “You can walk through stuff?” he asked.

“You know this already, didn’t you?” the Phoenix counter questioned.

“Maybe, I don’t recall”, Jack admitted “might be in the two years I cannot remember”.

“All the more reason to get them back”, the Phoenix stated.

“Definitely”, Jack agreed. The pair headed toward the lift and entered it. The Phoenix leant against the wall, closing her eyes again. “Looks like the Doctor is several floors up”, Jack stated, checking his wrist device.

“Good, that’s good”, the Time Lady said before she slid down to the floor, passed out.

“Nix!” Jack exclaimed, dropping down beside her. He touched his fingers to her neck, biting his lip worriedly when it felt rather faint. “Stay with me, Nix. Please”, he pleaded “I cant lose you”.

\------------

“Nix! Nix wake up!” Mickey shouted, shaking her shoulder.

“Mickey?” the Time Lady said, blearily, opening her eyes.

“Oh, thank god!” Mickey cried, relieved that she was awake “you’ve got to stop Rose, she’s trying to open the heart of the TARDIS!”

“What?!” the brunette exclaimed, jumping to her feet, Mickey hurrying to steady her when she wobbled “that girl is so dead!”

The Phoenix rushed out of the room she’d woken up in, which appeared to be the med bay. She ran down the corridors, the Doctor’s TARDIS shifting them about so she had a straight line to the console room. She shoved Rose away from the console just as the panel containing the heart of the ship flung open. The Time Lady moved in front of it and a golden light streamed out. Mickey and Rose had to cover their eyes as the light grew brighter. Even Goose scarpered.

On floor 500 of the Game Station, the Doctor braced himself for his death. Then something made him look up at the BAD WOLF CORPORATION sign. His eyes widened when he saw that it now said FIREBIRD CORPORATION. “No…”, he breathed. Firebird…the only person he would associate with that was the Phoenix.

Suddenly there was the sound of his TARDIS and he spun around, watching the police box appear. _“You will not escape!”_ the Emperor exclaimed on the screen. The TARDIS’ doors flung open, revealing the Phoenix, her eyes shining gold with the time vortex. Around her was the flaming outline of mythical bird of her namesake. She stepped forward and the Doctor stumbled back, falling to the ground.

“Phoenix…what have you done?” the Time Lord asked, scared.

“I looked into the TARDIS and she looked into me”, the Phoenix replied. Before the Doctor could question why, the Emperor Dalek spoke up.

 _“This is the abomination!”_ he cried.

“Exterminate!” one of the Daleks exclaimed and fired at the Time Lady.

“No!” the Doctor shouted. The Phoenix calmly raised a hand and the energy bolt froze in mid-air. The Doctor watched in amazement as the energy bolt reversed back into the gun.

“I am the Firebird”, the Time Lady said “I created myself with the help of the Bad Wolf. I take the words…” she waved her hand and the stamped lettering on the wall rise up and float away “and scatter them in time and space as a message to lead myself here”.

“Phoenix please you need to stop”, the Doctor pleaded. No one was supposed to take in all the energy from the Time Vortex, least of all their people. And given the Phoenix’s previously injured state, he was terrified that this was going to cause her to regenerate. “You’re gonna burn…”

“It’s worth it”, the Phoenix cut in, glancing down at him “it keeps my loved ones safe” a tear rolled down her cheek “Protected from the false god”.

 _“You cannot hurt me”_ , the Emperor Dalek stated _“I am immortal”_.

The Phoenix looked up at the large screen he was on, glowing eyes narrowing “You are tiny”, she retorted “pathetic. And you’ll be sorry you tried to destroy the person and planet I hold most dear”. She lifted her arms up and the phoenix surrounding her sored flew out, swooping through the Daleks present and burning them into ash.

As the bird dove out the window and destroyed the mother ship, the Doctor's eyes widened as a secondary phoenix, made up of golden energy separated from the Time Lady. Without the brunette knowing, the other bird flew down to where Jack was laying and dived towards the man. The moment it passed through him, Jack gasped awake and looked around in confusion. The TARDIS knew that if the Time Lady ever lost the man, she would lose herself and that wouldn't be good for anyone.

Back on Floor 500, the Doctor frowned as he felt what the second bird had done as the first flew back and hovered around the Time Lady. “The Time War ends”, she whispered.

“Ok, you’ve done it. Now let it go”, the Doctor urged.

“I can’t…” the Phoenix said, voice trembling “it won’t go….” the Doctor got to his feet, looking at her concerned “why won’t it go!”

"Maybe you need a Doctor," the Time Lord said quietly as he cupped her face and coaxed the time vortex out of her by running his thumb over her bottom lip, her mouth parting slightly. The golden light flowed out of her mouth and into the Doctor. Once it was all gone from the Phoenix, she collapsed in his arms.

The Time Lord carefully laid her down on the ground before he released the time vortex back into the TARDIS. He then knelt down beside the unconscious Time Lady, brushing some of her hair away from her face, stroking her cheek tenderly. He held a lot of affection for her, more than you would if you were just best friends. The Doctor never wanted to admit it, but he was in love with her. He was in love with her for centuries and he never said a word. And when he should have done, it was too late. The Phoenix’s hearts belonged to another.

He gently picked her up and carried her into the TARDIS. “Is she going to be ok?” Mickey asked as the Time Lord set the Time Lady down on the grating.

“She’ll be fine”, the Doctor assured him, moving over to the console and started the TARDIS up.

“What about you?” Mickey questioned eyeing him “are you alright?”

“I’m fine”, the Doctor replied, waving off his concern, wincing a little bit. Mickey raised a brow at that. In the short time that he’d been her companion, the Phoenix had taught him to ‘use your eyes and notice everything’. He was very grateful for it otherwise he wouldn’t have noticed the wince.

The Time Lady groaned, gaining their attention. Mickey went over to her, the Doctor hanging back as he started to feel the pain of his body telling him to regenerate. But he was going to hold it off as long as he could. Rose stayed back as well. She didn’t care for the Time Lady’s welfare especially since the Phoenix had gotten in the way of her saving the Doctor. “Mickey, remind me never to do that again”, the Phoenix groaned, rubbing her head.

“You got it Nix”, Mickey said. He leant in close to her ear “I think the Doctor is going to regenerate”, he whispered “I saw him wince”.

The Phoenix nodded and got to her feet. Mickey rose quickly, steadying her as she wobbled. “Thanks”, she said. She then made her way over to the Doctor, touching the hand that rested on the console “It’s ok. You’re going to be ok”, she said softly “I’m going to be with you, throughout it all, I promise. Just let go”.

The Doctor looked at her, tears in his eyes. He leant forward, resting her forehead against hers “thank you”, he said so quietly that if they hadn’t been that close together, the Phoenix would never have heard it. The Doctor took a couple of steps back and with one last smile, he regenerated.

“Vale Novem”, the Time Lady murmured sadly. Mickey and Rose shielded their eyes while the Phoenix watched. Through the glow of the regeneration energy pouring out of the Doctor, she could see his hair lengthen, his face changing and as well as his body.

The light died away, revealing a completely different man wearing the Doctor’s clothes. Mickey stared at him in surprise. Though he’d been told about regeneration, nothing could really prepare him for the actual thing. Rose openly gaped at the newly changed Time Lord. The Time Lady was the only one regarding him with curiosity.

The Doctor blinked several times before his eyes sought out the Phoenix “Hello! He greeted “Okay… Ooo” he stopped and frowned, running his tongue over his teeth “new teeth. That's weird”.

“Always is”, the Phoenix remarked.

Are you alright?” the Doctor asked moving closer to her, touching her cheek. She still looked rather pale even though she didn’t look visibly injured anymore.

“I should be asking you that”, the Phoenix said “since you’re the one who’s just regenerated”.

“I’m fine”, the Doctor assured her. The Phoenix gave him a look “I’m fine, I promise!” he insisted “Look…two legs, two arms, two hands...” he wiggled his limbs comically making the Phoenix giggle. Even Mickey snorted at his silliness. Rose on the other hand was too shocked to do anything. The Doctor rotated his wrist “Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle” his hands fly to his head “Hair! I'm not bald!” he said happily running his hands through it “Oh, Oh! Big hair!”

That had the Phoenix in fits of laughter and the Time Lord grinned, happy that his silliness was making her laugh. He touched his face “Sideburns, I've got sideburns! Or really bad skin”.

“It’s sideburns”, the Phoenix clarified.

“Thanks”, the Doctor said “I’m a little bit thinner...” he slapped his stomach “That's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it. I…have got… a mole. I can feel it. Between my shoulder blades” he rotated his shoulder “love that mole!”

Rose’s breathing quickened as she stared at the Time Lord. She didn’t understand what was going on but she wanted the Doctor back! “Where’s the Doctor?” she demanded before the Doctor could ask the Phoenix what she thought of his new look. The Time Lord turned around “what have you done with him?” Rose asked, voice rising.

“You saw me, I, I changed...right in front of you”, the Doctor replied gesturing to where he was standing.

Rose shook her head “I saw him sort of explode, and then you replaced him, like a... a teleport or a transmat or a body swap or something”, she said.

“It wasn’t either of those things. The Doctor went through this thing…”Mickey tried to explain.

“You're not fooling me”, Rose continued as if he hadn’t spoken. She walked towards the Doctor, poking him in the chest “I've seen all sorts of things. Nano genes... Gelth...” the blonde’s eyes darkened “Slitheen...”

The Doctor glanced at the Phoenix and Mickey, silently asking for help. “Rose he’s not a Slitheen”, Time Lady said “he’s the Doctor”.

Rose shook her head again “No. No! He isn’t!” she insisted “Send him back. I'm warning you; send the Doctor back right now!”

“God I need a drink of rum”, Mickey muttered, rolling his eyes at her stubbornness.

“You and me both”, the Doctor agreed “Rose, it IS me. Honestly its me”.

“No, you’re not him”, Rose said, refusing to acknowledge that this man was the Doctor. The Time Lord rolled his eyes.

“God I really have picked a stupid ape”, he stated and Rose was rather taken aback by his insult. The Doctor turned to Mickey and the Phoenix “You know I’m the Doctor, right?” he asked the human male.

Mickey nodded “course I do”, he said.

“I wish I’d found you sooner Phoenix…” the Doctor frowned. Her full name sounded weird coming from his new mouth “Nix”, he tried and nodded. Yes, that sounded better “I wish I’d found you sooner Nix, you could’ve helped me choose a better companion. Like Mickey here”. 

“Thanks”, Mickey said “though you’ve got Jack”, he pointed out “where is he by the way?”

“He’s fine”, the Doctor replied “he’s alive and well. He’s decided to stay behind and help rebuild the earth, that’s good of him isn’t it?”

The Phoenix just stared at him as he moved over to the console, flicking switches. There was something he wasn’t telling her. “So just he chose to stay?” she asked “my boyfriend willingly chose to stay behind. I don’t believe you”.

“Nix, it was his choice. He wanted to stay”, the Doctor insisted.

“No, he wouldn’t not without…” the Phoenix trailed off when the Time Lord suddenly gagged.

“Uh oh”, he muttered. 

“It’s going a bit wrong, isn’t it”, the Phoenix stated, a worried look on her face. The Doctor nodded, not trusting himself to say anything. “Ok, lets get you to the med bay”, she said “and get you checked out. The Time Lady took his arm and tried to lead him out of the console room when he gagged again, more violently this time. “Mickey, give me a hand”, the Phoenix said and the man nodded. He started towards the pair when the Doctor suddenly pulled his arm out of the Time Lady’s grip.

“It’s you…” he breathed staring at the Phoenix as if he hadn’t seen her for a very long time.

“Yes, it’s me”, the Time Lady said, signalling Mickey to stay put. As the Doctor’s change was going a bit wrong, there was no telling what he would do or how he would act.

“I thought I’d lost you”, the Time Lord touched her face, affectionately “ _Enya_ …” the Phoenix froze at his use of her childhood name, in Gallifreyan no less “I love you. I have been for a very long time”.

“Uh…” the Phoenix started when the Doctor darted to the console.

“I haven't used this one in years!” he cried pulling a lever making the TARDIS to shudder violently, knocking the Phoenix, Rose and Mickey to the floor.

“What're you doing?!” Rose shrieked.

“Putting on a bit of speed! That's it!” the Doctor shouted, a manic look in his eyes. The Phoenix struggled to her feet, stumbling over to Mickey, helping him up. “Wanna to break the time limit?!” the Time Lord asked.

“No we kinda don’t”, the Phoenix replied leading Mickey to the console which wasn’t so easy when the ship was shaking like crazy.

“Ah, don't be so dull... let's have a bit of fun! Let's rip through that vortex!” the Doctor shouted. The Phoenix pushed him aside and tried to slow the ship down but it wasn’t easy when she had a crazed Time Lord pressing random buttons.

The Time Lady cursed under her breath when a bell suddenly sounded “what the hell is that?” Mickey asked.

“We're gonna crash land!” the Doctor said, delighted and laughed manically.

“Phoenix do something!” Rose demanded.

“I’m trying!” the Time Lady shot back.

“Too late! Out of control!” the Doctor hollered, starting to run around the console while the Phoenix desperately tried to regain control “Oh, I love it! Hot dawg!”

“NIX!” Rose screamed.

“Just hold on!” the Phoenix shouted. There was a loud thud and they were all thrown to the floor.

“God I wish we had carpet”, Rose grumbled. Her back was definitely going to be sore later. The Phoenix pulled herself up, using the console to do it. She squinted at the scanner.

“We’re in the Powell Estate. Christmas 2006”, she reported.

“Oh goodie!” the Doctor said, excitedly, running for the door.

“Doctor wait!” the Phoenix called, hurrying after him. She just about managed to get to him before he faceplanted in front of a rather shocked Jackie. “Hi, Mrs Tyler”, she greeted “sorry about him, he’s a bit under the weather”.

“Who are you?” Jackie asked.

“I’m the Phoenix”, the Time Lady answered.

“Oh, you’re Mickey’s new friend!” Jackie said, recalling the many phone calls where the man had told her about his adventures with the Time Lady.

“That’s me”, the brunette confirmed “and this is the Doctor”.

“But he looks different”, Jackie frowned.

“He’s… had a bit of work done”, the Phoenix offered “Do you mind if I get him inside? Preferably before I keel over too”.

“Oh! Of course!” Jackie said “it’s this way”. She gestured towards the block of flats.


	14. Chapter 14

The Phoenix stood there watching the kettle boil, the windmills in her mind spinning with everything that had happened. _I wish Jack were here_ she thought sadly, hand drifting down to settle on her stomach.

“What are you doing?” Rose asked in the doorway, making the brunette jump.

“Your brain really must be small”, the Phoenix remarked earning her an angry look from Rose “it’s pretty obvious. The kettle is boiling…I’m making tea”.

“I know you are”, Rose said.

“Well, if you know that question of yours was pretty pointless then”, the Phoenix said “the better question would be ‘Why am I making a cup of tea?’”

“Ok… _why_ are you making a cup of tea?” Rose asked, feeling her anger rise. She was about two seconds away from exploding.

“It’s for the Doctor”, the Phoenix said picking up the mug “a superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses” at Rose’s confused look, she simplified it “tea has stuff in it that will help him to heal and settle his mind. God you really are dumb aren’t you?”

The Phoenix tried to move past Rose but the human grabbed the mug, throwing it to the floor. “I’m not dumb!” she shouted.

“Could’ve fooled me”, the Time Lady said calmly though inwardly she was groaning. Gods did she have to witness another temper tantrum? She was ever so grateful that Mickey never did anything like that. Then again she wouldn’t have chosen him as her companion if he did.

Rose’s eyes hardened “this is all your fault!” she snarled, poking the Time Lady in the chest “he changed because of you!”

The Phoenix grabbed her hand, lightly twisting her wrist, making the human cry out. Jackie and Mickey came out when this happened. The former tried to come to her daughter’s aid when the latter stopped her. “Don’t. Nix wont hurt her but Rose needs to be put in her place”, Mickey explained “now, trust me when I say, you’re not going to want to see this”. He took her by the arm and pulled her back into the bedroom, closing the door.

“Don’t you dare blame me, Rose Tyler”, the Phoenix said in a low dangerous voice “I only took in the time vortex because you had to go and tamper with things you didn’t understand, you bloody stupid ape!” Rose took several steps back, trembling “I could have saved him in a way that would have had him up and about and still with the same face. But oh no…you had to take things into your own hands!!!”

Rose let out frightened noise, falling backwards onto her bum when a the same firey aura exploded into being around the Time Lady. The Phoenix glared at Rose, anger coursing through her veins. She clenched her fists, taking a deep breath to force herself to calm down. The calmer she got, the fainter the aura was until it completely vanished. “If you were my companion and you pulled a stunt like that I…” the Time Lady trailed off suddenly feeling rather light headed “I…” Rose watched the Time Lady sway on the spot, holding her head “I…don’t feel so….”

The Phoenix collapsed onto the kitchen floor, Rose staring at her in shock. The bedroom door was flung open and Mickey rushed out. His eyes widened seeing the only family he had laying prone on the floor. “Nix!” he cried hurrying to her side “what did you do?” he demanded to Rose as he lifted up the Time Lady’s head, resting it on his lap.

“I didn’t do anything”, Rose insisted “she just collapsed”. Mickey just shot her a look saying that he didn’t believe her at all. He carefully picked the Phoenix up and carried her to the sofa.

“Thanks”, he said to Jackie, who handed him a blanket to cover the Time Lady. He draped it over her and perched on the arm of the chair. “I’m here Nix”, he whispered brushing some of her hair away from her face “I’m not going anywhere”.

\-------------------

The Phoenix shot up into a sitting position upon hearing Mickey’s shouts. Her eyes widened when she saw a green Christmas tree spinning around like the Tasmanian Devil. “Go!” she shouted leaping from the sofa, placing herself in between the evil evergreen and the three humans that were standing there. Rose and Jackie scarpered while Mickey stayed put “Mickey, go!” she ordered.

“Not without you!” Mickey shouted back, grabbing her hand, pulling her down the hallway. They darted into the bedroom where Jackie was huddled against the wall, scared. Rose on the other hand was trying to wake up the Doctor.

“Don’t wake him!” the Phoenix said as she and Mickey shoved the wardrobe against the door, pushing all their weight onto it.

“We need him!” Rose shot back.

“No, you don’t. You’ve got me”, The Phoenix said, reaching into her pocket for her sonic. If she could get the right frequency she could destroy the tree.

“Fat lot of good you are”, Rose sneered “you’re hiding in here with us”.

“Shut it Rose”, Mickey snapped, pressing harder against the wardrobe as he felt it start to shake from the tree trying to get through on the other side. Suddenly it burst through the wardrobe, throwing Mickey and the Phoenix back. 

“I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!” Jackie shrieked as the Phoenix shifted in front of Mickey, trying to protect him from the tree of death. She was about to set the conifer ablaze when the Doctor beat her to it, blowing it up with his sonic.

The Phoenix relaxed slightly now that the danger was gone. The Time Lord jumped out of bed, going straight for the Time Lady, pulling her up and into his arms. He had never felt so scared before. Hearing it all happening and not being able to do a thing about it until it was almost too late. The Doctor had this overwhelming urge to kiss her but he stopped himself. She was with Jack…it would be wrong.

Then he remembered that he had told her that the loved her and had been for a long time. Had he unintentionally overstepped in his crazed state? If he had, he really hoped that he didn’t just jeopardise his friendship with her. That would be the last thing he wanted. He honestly wouldn’t know what to do if he’d ruined the only good thing he had going for him. And as much as he wanted to ask her, there annoyingly was more pressing matters that needed his attention.

The Doctor pulled back from her, rather reluctantly though “you ok?” he asked, searching her face for any signs of pain or stress.

The Phoenix nodded “I’m fine”, she replied “are you ok?” she questioned. Him being awake now could potentially be putting himself at risk as it was far too early for him to be up and about.

“I’m fine”, the Doctor answered, repeating her response “Now, let’s see who was controlling that” he nodded to the remnants of the tree. He slipped his hand in hers and walked out of the room, completely ignoring the humans. The Phoenix snatched up the dressing gown on the way.

“Better put this on”, she said holding it out to him.

“Thanks”, his said, taking it from her and slipping it on.

“Oh, it would have to be them”, the Phoenix griped seeing three Pilot Fish standing on the ground below, one holding a remote control. The Doctor raised his sonic at them threateningly and they teleported themselves away.

Mickey let out a laugh “They’re not much cop if a sonic screwdriver is gonna scare them off”, he remarked.

“They’re Pilot Fish”, the Phoenix told him seriously and his smile dropped.

“Oh”, Mickey said.

“Yeah”, the Phoenix said grimly. Rose looked at the pair, annoyance flooding through her. _Of course Mickey knew what they were_ she thought. As much as she didn’t like the Phoenix, she seemed to be making Mickey more knowledgeable about the universe. Shame the same couldn’t be said for the Doctor.

The Time Lord suddenly let out a cough and threw himself backwards against the wall, pulling the Pheonix with him. “You woke too soon”, she stated and he nodded.

“Yeah”, he said, a wisp of time vortex escaping from his mouth.

“Right”, the Phoenix said “Mickey help me get him inside. Jackie pop the kettle on. We’re going to need tea. A lot of it”. Jackie nodded and ran inside the flat to do as she’d asked.

“What about me?” Rose asked.

“Keep out of the bloody way”, the Time Lady answered “you’re doing more harm than good”. Rose could only stand there staring at her while Mickey helped the Time Lady get the Doctor to his feet. Together they took him inside the flat and sat him down on the sofa. The Time Lord groaned, dropping his head on to the Phoenix’s shoulder. “How it coming with the tea?” she called to Jackie.

“Nearly done!” Jackie shouted back.

“Just hold on a bit longer”, the Phoenix said to the Doctor, taking his hand, rubbing her thumb on the back of it. Mickey hurried over to Jackie when she appeared with a steaming mug of tea and took it from her.

“Here”, he said holding it out to the Time Lords, the Phoenix taking it from him. She held the mug while the Doctor took a couple of sips. After that he felt strong enough to hold the cup himself. They watched as he gulped it down.

“Better?” the Phoenix asked.

“Much”, the Doctor replied. He could feel it working. His mind was settling as was his body “thank you”.

“You’re welcome”, the Phoenix said. She rubbed her forehead and the Doctor looked at her concerned.

“You sure you’re ok?” he questioned.

“Yeah, I’m fine”, she assured him “I’m just gonna get some air”. The Phoenix got up and started towards the front door. She only made it a couple of steps before she suddenly pitched forward. Mickey who was the closest, quickly grabbed her before she hit the floor.

The Doctor immediately reacted, launching himself off the sofa to take the Phoenix from him. He gathered her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom, laying her on the bed. “What’s wrong with her?” Mickey asked, concerned for the Time Lady.

“Not sure”, the Doctor said, scanning her with the sonic. He looked at the results. It seemed like her body was trying to heal itself from the injuries she’d sustained when her TARDIS was very nearly destroyed. There was something else which made his eyes widen. She was pregnant!

“Who cares?” Rose muttered quietly from the doorway but both the Doctor and Mickey heard her.

“We care”, Mickey said, shooting her an angry look. The Doctor couldn’t believe his companion. If she kept up this behaviour, he was going to leave her behind. She didn’t deserve to travel with him.

“What is wrong with you?” he asked “show a little compassion”. Rose didn’t say anything. Instead opting to walk away.

“You really need a new companion”, Mickey stated.

“Don’t I know it”, the Doctor agreed. The pair settled down to patiently wait for her to wake.

\-------------

When the Phoenix woke next, she felt something pawing at her. She opened her eyes to see Goose sitting there. “Hey girl”, she said rubbing her fur, making her purr. The Time Lady sat up to discover that she was laying on the grated floor of the TARDIS. A thermos of tea was lying next to her, its contents spilled out. _So that’s why…_ she thought. She’d felt a lot stronger when she’d woken up which had to be due to the tea. Goose pawed her again and then hurried to the door.

The Phoenix got up and followed him. She frowned hearing the commotion on the other side. Her eyes widened upon hearing a Sycorax speak. She grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. Mickey grinned upon seeing her “Nix!” he cried happily.

“Hey guys”, she greeted “I’m back!” The Time Lady walked forward, smiling in acknowledgment at Harriet before coming to stand beside the Doctor. “Now what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into?” she asked him.

“Oh…the usual kind”, the Doctor told her with a cheeky grin “good to have you back”.

“Thanks. So Sycorax, huh?” The Phoenix remarked to the Time Lord while the Sycorax leader watched, rather dumbfounded as they causally chattered away like he wasn’t standing there.

“Yep”, the Doctor said.

“If I might interrupt”, the Sycorax Leader said.

“You can but it would be plain rude”, the Phoenix said to him.

“I demand to know who you are!” the alien ordered.

“Well…considering you asked nicely. I’m the Phoenix”, the Time Lady said “this is the Doctor”.

“But apart from that I have no clue who I am”, the Doctor admitted “it’s all untested” he wandered around, everyone watching him “Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?” he threw a wink at the Phoenix who just shook her head at hi with a smile “Right old misery? Life and soul? Right handed? Left handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob” he noticed a button “And how am I going to react when I see this” he points at it with a big smile “a great big threatening button” he runs up the stairs laughing A Great Big Threatening Button Which Must Not Be Pressed Under Any Circumstances. Am I right? Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix? Hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?”

The Doctor crouched down and opens the door in the base of the pillar supporting the button “And what've we got here? Blood?” he dips a finger in and tastes it “Yeah, definitely blood. Human blood. A Positive, with just a dash of iron” he waggles his tongue around at the nasty taste and wipes his finger on his dressing gown “Ah, but that means…blood control…” the Doctor become delighted at that “Blood control! Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years. You're controlling all the A Positives.

Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. Because I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a Great Big Threatening Button Which Should Never Ever Be Pressed…then I just want to do this”

He whacks the button hard “No!” Harriet and Rose shouted. The Phoenix rolled her eyes. She knew the Doctor well enough to know that he would endanger humans like that.

“Calm down, you lot”, she said “he wouldn’t do that if he wasn’t 100% sure that the people would be safe. Besides blood control is a cheap parlour trick. You make people do what you want but you cannot make them kill themselves. The survival instinct's too strong”.

“Blood control was just one form of conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force”, the Sycorax leader informed them.

“Have to get through us first”, the Phoenix stated “and I for one am not about to let you take this world”.

“Are you standing as their champion?” the alien asked.

“No, I am”, the Doctor cut in when the Phoenix opened her mouth to confirm.

“What are you doing?” she hissed at him when he came back to stand next to her “I’d be a better choice”.

“I don’t want you getting hurt”, the Doctor said. Especially since now that she was pregnant. He would never forgive himself if she got harmed.

“I can handle myself”, the Phoenix shot back “I have better swordsmanship”.

“I’m doing this that’s final”, the Doctor said firmly. He shrugged off the dressing gown, handing it to her before to took a sword from a nearby Sycorax. He took a sword from one of the Sycorax, gripping it tightly “Do you accept my challenge?” he asked the Sycorax leader “Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?”

The Phoenix raised her eyebrows at the insult. The leader and the Doctor got down on one knee, holding their swords. “For the planet?” the Sycorax challenged.

“For the planet”, the Doctor said. The Time Lady sighed. She knew there was no way that she’d be able to step in now. If she did, it would invalidate the challenge and therefore the planet was forfeit.

The Phoenix watched the pair battle it out with anxious eyes. “Look out!” Rose shouted as the Sycorax Leader swung his sword at the Time Lord who just managed to dodge it.

“Oh yeah, that helped. Wouldn’t have thought of that otherwise, thanks”, the Doctor said sarcastically. He led the fight up the stairs and onto a platform on the outside of the spaceship. The Time Lady flinched when the Doctor got elbowed in the nose by the Sycorax Leader.

“I swear if he loses a limb, I’m gonna kill him”, she muttered to Mickey. As if she’d just jinxed it, the Doctor got his hand cut off the by Sycorax leader. The Phoenix facepalmed. Mickey was amused by her reaction. Completely the opposite to any normal person.

“You cut my hand off”, the Doctor stated both stunned and annoyed.

“Ya! Sycorax!” the leader said triumphantly.

“So much for that…what now?” Mickey asked.

“You’ll have to wait and see”, the Phoenix replied.

The Doctor got to his feet “And now I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky. ‘Cos quite by chance I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle, which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy…to do this” he holds up his stump of an arm and before the eyes of everyone, his hand grew back.

“Witchcraft”, the Sycorax leader snarled.

“Time Lord”, the Doctor retorted. The Phoenix shoved the dressing gown into Mickey’s arms before pulling out a sword from her jacket pocket.

“Heads up!” she shouted tossing it to the Doctor, who caught it.

“You had a sword in your pocket?” Mickey questioned.

“Of course I do”, the Phoenix “never know when you’re gonna need it”. They watched the Doctor take down the Sycorax leader. 

“I win”, the Doctor said pointing his sword at the alien’s throat.

“Then kill me”

“I'll spare your life if you'll take this Champion's command: Leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?” the Doctor asked.

“Yes”, the Sycorax leader said agreeing with his terms.

The Doctor jabbed his sword closer “Swear on the blood of your species”, he ordered in a far more angry tone than before.

“I swear”, the Sycorax leader vowed.

The Doctor grinned, his anger now gone “There we are, then! Thanks for that! Cheers, big fella!” he said. Rose started towards the Doctor, only to be pushed aside by the Phoenix. The blonde turned to Mickey.

“She just pushed me”, she complained.

“So?” Mickey asked, not exactly bothered by it.

“But…she pushed me”, Rose repeated.

“And I care why?” Micky asked “with the way you’ve been acting, I don’t want to know you. In fact…I’m not going to be your boyfriend any more”. He left her standing there, gaping like a fish.

“Nice moves”, the Phoenix remarked sliding the sword back into her pocket.

“Thanks”, the Doctor said. The Time Lady then smacked him upside the head “Ow! What was that for?” he asked rubbing the sore spot.

“Probably cos you got your hand cut off”, Mickey answered.

“Exactly. If I was the one fighting, I wouldn’t have lost my hand”, the Pheonix said.

“Maybe not but I wasn’t going to take the chance that you would get hurt”, the Doctor said. He took her hand “that’s the last thing I want”, he added softly. The Phoenix could see that he was pretty sincere in keeping her safe. It was in his eyes.

Behind them the Sycorax leader get to his feet. He picks up his sword, roaring as he charged at them. The Phoenix calmly reached into her pocket and brought out a rubber band ball. She threw it at a button on the side of the ship causing the ground underneath the Sycorax leader to open. He tumbles to the Earth screaming. “He should’ve adhered to the rules of engagement”, she stated simply.

The trio entered the ship, Rose, Harriet and some guy named Alex followed them. The Doctor stood in front of his TARDIS. “By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time” the Doctor said looking at all the Sycorax seriously “And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet…when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It is defended”, he said in a tone that ensured the rest of the Sycorax that he was very serious.

A brief second later, they were all teleported back to Earth. “Where are we?” Rose asked looking around.

“We're just off Bloxom Road. We're just round the corner, we did it!” Mickey laughed and jumps up and down with glee. The Doctor holds up his hand as the spaceship’s engines started up.

“Wait a minute…wait a minute…”, the Time Lord said as the ship takes flight, back into the skies and he grinned.

“Go on, my son! Oh, yeah!” Mickey cheered gleefully. He hugged the Phoenix, happily. “It is defended!” he shouted.

“Yes. Yes it is”, the Time Lady agreed “and it always will be”. She stepped away from her companion and went over to the Doctor “All’s well that ends well”, she remarked and the Doctor hummed in agreement “doesn’t mean I’m not gonna kick your ass for getting your hand cut off”.

“And I won’t stop you”, the Doctor said “though there is something I need to tell you…” he took her hand and led her away from the others.

“What is it?” the Phoenix asked.

“I uh…” the Doctor started. He knew that he couldn’t tell her that what he said wasn’t just the ramblings of his mind spiralling with the regeneration. That he _was_ completely and utterly in love with her. As much as he wanted to, it wasn’t what she needed to hear right now. “I scanned you when you passed out. And my sonic picked up something. Nix…you’re…you’re pregnant”.

The Phoenix stared at him, eyes wide “what?” she breathed “I-I’m…” she stumbled back, hand going to her stomach “oh my god”.

The Doctor was about to say something when all of a sudden a sudden a green beam of light shoots out from the round nearby. They all looked up and watch as four more beams of light shoot up to join the first one. The combined beams destroyed the Sycorax spaceship much to the shock of everyone.

The Phoenix’s eyes landed on Harriet and they hardened. She must’ve given the order. The Time Lady marched over to her “that was murder!” she said angrily.

“That was defence. It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago”, Harriet explained.

“They were leaving!” the Phoenix shouted.

“Who’s to say they weren’t going to come back in full force next time?” Harriet asked, though she was a bit wary of the Time Lady “and with others?”

“The Doctor told them this planet was protected!” The Phoenix argued “they would have left you alone as per the agreement!”

“Well, I’m sorry but neither of you are here all the time. I had to act on behalf of the human race”, Harriet shot back.

“I should’ve given them a different message”, the Time Lord said stepping up to stand next to the Phoenix, placing a hand on the small of her back, hoping to calm her down a little. “I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race”

The Phoenix shook her head “we should’ve stopped you”, she said.

“And what does that make you two?” Harriet demanded “another alien threat?”

The Time Lady stepped forward “Do NOT test me Harriet Jones”, she said in a low, dangerous tone “I can bring your government down with six words”.

“Not possible”, Harriet said stubbornly. The Pheonix arched a brow, taking it as a challenge. She turned and walked over to Alex, tugging his earpiece out.

“Don’t you think she looks tired?” she murmured into his ear. She was pleased to see as a result some hours later on Jackie’s TV, that were was a vote of no confidence.

“That’ll teach her to not mess with you”, Mickey said giving her a nudge “Miss Badass”.

The Phoenix smiled at her moniker though her thoughts turned to the baby growing within her. _Guess its Mama Badass now_ she thought. She had no idea how she was going to be able to do this without Jack. To raise their child without him and that’s even if she doesn’t have a repeat of the first time. “Excuse me”, the Phoenix said and quickly left the flat before she started crying in front of everyone.

The Time Lady ran away from the block of flat as fast as she could before she lost her footing on the grass. She stumbled, falling to the ground. The Phoenix’s shoulders shook as she sobbed her hearts out.


	15. Chapter 15

The Phoenix stood outside her TARDIS, not making a move to go in. She’d found it after barely managing to pull herself together. Somehow the old girl had managed to get from wherever she was to right here on the Powell Estate. She sensed the Doctor approaching but didn’t look his way. “I see your TARDIS has arrived”, the Time Lord remarked.

“Yeah, she has”, the Phoenix said. The Doctor paused, hearing her tone though decided not to say anything about it. He could understand that she wasn't going to be okay, not after everything she had gone through.

"How are you going with, um....everything?" he asked tentatively, making to rest a hand on her shoulder, but stopped himself.

"Fine," the brunette answered, though she still hadn't looked away from her ship. They were silent for a moment, the Doctor shifting uncomfortably, unsure what to say before the Phoenix spoke up again.

"Can you do me a favour?" she asked.

"Sure," the Doctor replied, though he was a little confused as to what he could do for her.

"Can you take Mickey and Goose for a bit? I need to be alone for a while," the Phoenix finally cast him a glance.

“I’m not sure that’s such a-“ the Doctor started.

“Please”, the Phoenix cut in “ _Theta_ , I need some time”, she added quietly. The Doctor paused, his mouth closing when he noticed that she had been crying.

“Sure”, he said, grabbing her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze “take all the time you need”.

The Phoenix nodded gratefully as the Doctor let her hand go. “Thank you”, she murmured before she took a deep breath and stepped inside her ship.

When her TARDIS started to dematerialise, the Doctor sighed. “I’m sorry _Enya_ ”.

\-------

The Phoenix slowly wandered through the corridors, not really having a destination in mind. Despite that, she wasn’t surprised that she ended up outside the nursery intended for her first child. “Guess this’ll be your room now”, she mumbled reaching out to trace the carving on the wood with one hand, touching her stomach with the other “probably will redecorate. We got time. We got time”.

The Time Lady continued on, this time heading to the kitchen for a hot cup of tea. While she did so, the TARDIS let out a worried hum. She knew that her pilot had been through a lot and she hoped that the Phoenix didn’t spiral during her solo travels.

While she was waiting for the kettle to boil, Bobby’s amulet whizzed around her head. The Phoenix sighed as she snatched it out the air, reading the message. She then shoved it into the nearest drawer, slamming it shut. “Those damn boys again”, she grumbled “tea first. Then save their asses. Again”.

\--------------

Sam, Dean and John yelled as they were thrown around the motel room by the Daeva. Suddenly the door was kicked in and an annoyed Phoenix entered. “A Daeva? Really?” she questioned eyeing the shadow creature “hey! Shadow beastie!” the thing stopped and turned to her “I’ll burn ya to cinders if you don’t stop me”, she challenged, waving her fingers, making them spark. The Time Lady turned and ran, the Daeva chased after her.

The brunette dropped to the floor, throwing her hands up, incinerating the creature as it flew over her. “Easy peasy”, the Phoenix said, standing up.

“How did you do that?” Dean asked as he, his brother and dad came out, witnessing what happened.

“I have powers”, the Phoenix replied, in a duh tone “its not the only thing I can do but I’m not giving you a show. I came, I saw and I kicked Daeva ass. You’re welcome”.

“Hey, wait”, Sam called hurrying after her as she walked off “thanks for the save. Again”.

“You’re welcome. Again”, the Phoenix said.

“I have to ask, how did you know that we were in trouble? Not with just today but those other times”, Sam queried.

“A friend of a friend tells me”, the Time Lady said, vaguely.

Sam frowned, noticing that she looks a little…off “are you ok?” he asked, softly.

“Yeah, fine”, the Phoenix replied “take care of yourselves”. She then turned and walked away, the Winchesters watching her leave.

\-------------

The Phoenix walked towards her TARDIS, pausing when she noticed the pile of sweetie wrappers near the ship. “Hello Mr Litter Bug”, she greeted, sensing a presence near her ship. Gabriel stepped out from behind her ship.

“Hello Nix”, the archangel greeted back “and little one”, he nodded to her stomach “congratulations”.

“Thanks”, the Time Lady said, flatly, unlocking the TARDIS and entering it.

“Are you ok?” Gabriel asked, frowning a little at her tone. She didn’t seem to be as happy as he would’ve expected.

“Yeah, fine”, the Phoenix replied, going over to the console and fiddling with it. The archangel knew she wasn’t ‘fine’, even more so when her shoulders began to shake as she started to cry.

“Nix”, he said softly, touching her shoulder.

The Phoenix looked at him tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she blurted out everything to him. Gabriel hugged her as she sobbed, his heart breaking at what she’d been through. “I’m so sorry”, he said “is there anything I can do?”

“I just want it to stop!” she cried “I want the hurt to stop!”

“I think I have just the thing”, Gabriel said “come with me”. He held out his hand to the Time Lady and she took it. The archangel led her out of the TARDIS and into what appeared to be a two storey house.

“Where are we?” the Phoenix asked, pulling her hand out of his, looking around. They were standing in a living room, with a tv, sofa and a couple of arm chairs. In the corner was a small playpen. She picked up the pink bunny from the sofa and that was when she noticed the photos on the fire place. The Phoenix went over to it, the toy falling to the floor when she saw it was herself with Jack and two kids, one boy and one girl. “Gabriel”, she breathed turning to him “you created this for me?”

The archangel nodded “it’s the least you deserve”, he replied “this place will last as long as you want. To leave it, all you have to do is walk through the front door”. As soon as he said those words, the door opened and the little boy from the photo ran in.

“Mummy!” he cried, happily.

“Hey, little man”, the Phoenix greeted, scooping him up.

“Have fun”, Gabriel said and disappeared.

“Daddy got stuck on the slide!” the boy told her with a laugh “it was really funny”.

The Time Lady laughed too “did he now?”

“Yes I did”, Jack said, strolling in, picnic box in on hand and an infant girl balanced on his hip “and we are never speaking of this again”. He put the picnic box down and walked over to the brunette, giving her a kiss. “Hello love”, he greeted, softly.

“Yuck!” the boy in the Phoenix’s arms said, covering his eyes with his hands. The two adults chuckled at his response.

“James, why don’t you go play while mummy and daddy talk?” Jack suggested.

“Yes”, James cheered, wiggling in his mother’s grasp. The Phoenix set him down and he scampered off. Jack placed the girl in the playpen were she started to play with her toys.

“Now, where were we?” he asked “oh, yes…” he walked back to her, cupping her face and kissed her tenderly “I love you”.

“I love you too”, the Phoenix whispered.

“How’s our other little angel?” the American questioned, placing a hand on her stomach.

“Oh I…” the Phoenix glanced down to see that she was now sporting a 3 month baby bump. She smiled and looked up at him “fine, she just fine”, she answered.

“Good. That’s good”, Jack said and kissed her again. The Phoenix felt the warmth flood through her just like she did every time he kissed her.

 _Thank you Gabriel_ she thought, closing her eyes, relaxing into the kiss.

\---------------

Meanwhile in Cardiff….

Jack drummed his fingers on his desk as he stared at the computer screen. On it was pictures and reports of sightings of the Phoenix. There weren’t many, unlike the Doctor who seemed to be everywhere. “I miss you”, he whispered, touching the face of the latest version of the Time Lady. His heart ached at not being near her. She was the only thing that kept him from going insane all those years being stuck on earth waiting for a version of herself that would coincide with his timeline.

A good few years ago, he would be happy to wait for her to show up but now…now he was seriously considering sending her a signal somehow just so she would know that he was here. He didn’t know how he was going to do it though. He’d call her, except he had lost his damn phone AND his own psychic paper. Maybe get a message to her TARDIS? Or leave a really big picture of a Phoenix somewhere for her to notice?

Jack ruffled his hair, frustrated. He needed to decide the method in getting in touch with her and soon. Otherwise, he might go spare if he had to go one more day without her.

Back in Gabriel’s reality, the Phoenix and the archangel’s creation of Jack were now curled up in bed. “This is nice”, the Time Lady murmured, running her fingers through his hair as the man rested his head on her stomach, listening to the soothing thrum of the baby’s heartbeat.

“Yeah it is”, Jack agreed. He moved to lie beside her, placing his hand on her bump “I love you Nix”, he whispered “you, James, Isla and this little one” he rubbed her stomach “you four are my world”.

“And you guys are mine”, the Phoenix whispered back, giving him a kiss.

~the Doctor’s TARDIS~

“Mickey help!” Rose shouted as she ran away from Goose as quickly as she could. The man stepped out into the corridor, brow raised at the spectacle in front of him.

“Uh…I don’t think so”, Mickey said and disappeared back into the library where he’d been reading up on the aliens that the Phoenix had told him about.

The blonde woman watched him go both in shock and disbelief. She yelped when Goose lashed out with her tentacles. The young woman took off, the Flerken chasing after her.

~Gabriel’s Reality~

The Phoenix hummed a lullaby as she paced around the living room, Isla in her arms. Two days had passed in the Archangel’s world in a blink of an eye. Two amazing days with the family that he had created just for her.

The brunette glanced at the infant she was cradling, the girl now fast asleep. She softly smiled. She had loved every second in the life that she was gifted with. If she had to be honest, she would be happy to stay forever but in reality, she couldn’t. Jack…the real Jack was still out there, probably wondering if and when he would see her again.

The Phoenix took Isla up to her nursery, setting her down in her crib. She stroked her daughter’s cheek. “Sweet dreams, my little angel”, she murmured. The Time Lady stopped by her sons room to take one last look and smiled as she saw Jack fast asleep on the bed with his arm around their boy. “Goodbye, my boys”, she whispered. The brunette closed the door quietly and made her way downstairs.

The Time Lady paused by the front door, taking one last look around the house before she left. “So, how did you find it?” Gabriel asked as she walked down the steps.

“Amazing”, the Time Lady replied “Thank you so much Gabriel. Its just what I needed”.

“I figured as much”, the Archangel said “if you ever need to go back there, just let me know”.

“I will”, the Phoenix promised. She moved closer and gave him a hug “look after yourself”, she said.

“You too”, Gabriel said. He watched her slip into the TARDIS, the box dematerialising before he disappeared too. 


	16. Chapter 16

The Phoenix pulled her hair into a messy bun as she contemplated the nursery. After spending time in Gabriel’s reality she decided that the room needed a change. She couldn’t keep it the same for the baby that was coming. As much as it still hurt to think about the child she had lost, it was in her past and she had to try and move on from it. Focusing on her son or daughter that’ll be arriving in about 23 months’ time is the best way.

The Time Lady touched her overall clad stomach with a small smile. Despite all the years she’d been alive, she couldn’t understand how human pregnancies could only last 9 months. It was much longer for Time Lords as their species needed much more time to develop.

The Phoenix started to gather up the toys, putting them in the box with no problems. However, when she got to a rather tatty and well loved plushie red bird which you could kinda call a phoenix, she stopped. It was given to her by her mother when she was born. She had to leave that one out. It didn’t matter if she was going to give it to the child that she had lost, she couldn’t put it away. The Time Lady set it down in the crib carefully, stroking its ‘feathers’ and a tear rolled down her face.

Suddenly a phone rang from her pocket which made her jump. The Phoenix wiped the tear away as she fished in her pocket for the device. She took it out and saw that it was Sarah Jane calling. The Time Lady took a breath to pull herself together before she answered. “Hey Sarah”, she greeted.

 _“Hey, Nix…you sound different”_ , the reporter remarked.

“Well, I have changed a few times since I saw you last”, the Phoenix informed her “but you didn’t ring up just to hear my different voice, did ya? So whats up?”

 _“I’ve discovered something interesting going on with Deffry Vale. School gets record results but there’s also a high number of students getting ill too”_ , Sarah Jane explained.

“You think there’s a link?” the Phoenix asked.

 _“I’m not sure, I want to do some more digging before I jump to anything”_ , Sarah Jane replied “ _I am wondering if you…”_

“Would go under cover at the school and see whats what? Of course I will”, the Phoenix said without letting her finished. Her friend had her at kids getting ill.

 _“Thanks Nix. If I can get enough, I might be able to swing an interview with the headmaster”_ , Sarah Jane said.

“Well, if you need any help in that regard, let me know and I’ll work my ‘magic’”

Sarah Jane snorted at the other end of the phone. She knew very well that her ‘magic’ consisted either calling in favours from people who owed her or the Time Lady will use her handy dandy psychic paper. _“Thanks Nix, I owe you_ ”

“No, you don’t. Its what friends are for”, the Phoenix said “and quite frankly, I needed something to do anyway”.

\------------------

Two days later saw the Phoenix at the school as the new history teacher. She was currently pouring over the quiz that she had set the students. Honestly she was astounded by their knowledge. She knew clever kids but this was impossible! Every single one of the quizzes were marked 100%. Even the bonus question she had slipped in which was on something that she had learned at the academy. And they still got it correct. Normally she’d be impressed but these children had knowledge beyond education levels on Earth and it was fairly unnerving.

The Time Lady sat back in her chair, thinking. Something was making the students smarter. But what could it be? There was also the matter of the headmaster and those other teachers. Something about them was making her very uneasy. She was too deep in her thoughts that she didn’t even sense the Doctor appear in the doorway of her classroom.

The Time Lord the in question was staring at her. He hadn’t expected to see her so soon and to be honest he was pretty glad for it too. Mickey was absolutely fine as was Goose. Shame he couldn’t say the same for Rose. Damn girl was annoying him to know end with the terrible flirting. He had quite recently questioned his judgement in letting her continue to travel with him after the way she was around the Phoenix at Christmas. “ _Enya_ ”, he breathed, making the brunette’s head snap up.

“Doctor”, she whispered, getting up from the desk “hi”. The brunette walked around it and the Doctor stepped into the room.

“I’ve missed you”, he murmured as he carefully hugged her “how have you been?” he asked stepping back “both of you?” he went to touch her stomach but let his hand drop by his side instead.

“We’re fine”, the Phoenix replied “how’s Goose and Mickey? They behaved?”

“Of course”, the Doctor answered “wish I could say the same about Rose”.

The Phoenix sighed “what did she do this time?” she questioned.

“She…was more annoying than normal. And…she wouldn’t stop flirting with me”, the Doctor explained “I’ve tried to tell her I’m not interested. I’ve done my best to show her that I’m not but nothing seems to be working”, he ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up “help?”

“I might have an idea that’ll get her to back off”, the Phoenix said “though it does depend one thing”.

“What’s that?” the Doctor asked.

“Whether you don’t mind me kissing you in front of her”, the Phoenix replied.

“Yes!” the Doctor said with probably a bit more enthusiasm than he should have considering that they’re supposed to only be friends. Well, the Time Lady believes them to just be friends as she had no idea that he’d fallen in love with her. The Doctor wasn’t sure about admitting it to her. Correction, admitting it to her _again_ since he had already done it once when his regeneration was going wrong. That’s probably why she hadn’t brought it up because she possibly thought it was due to what had happened and that he wasn’t in his right frame of mind. But now that it had settled, could he really tell her that he wasn’t just saying it at the time, he actually _meant_ it too?

 _What about Jack? She loves him and that’s not likely to change, ever. She pregnant with his baby, for someone’s sake!_ The Doctor couldn’t help feel a bubble of anger and jealousy toward the American. The man had her hearts AND fathered a child with her! Didn’t matter how much he loved her. It didn’t matter that he had been in her life far longer than the former Time Agent. The Phoenix was Jack’s and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

However, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t be there for her throughout the pregnancy. And if by chance something were to develop between them… then he would take the opportunity. Until then, he was her best friend and nothing more. “I mean…yeah. I’d be happy with it”, the Doctor added, pretending to sound like he wasn’t going to be affected by the Time Lady’s idea “if it’ll stop Rose from flirting then I’m all for it”. _If I happen to enjoy the kiss when it happens, I can put it down to being an act_ he thought.

“Good”, the Phoenix said “now I’m guessing you’re here as a teacher, physics probably. So what’s Rose as?”

“Dinner lady”, the Doctor replied and the Time Lady snickered.

“Probably the only thing she could do well”, she remarked “how about Mickey? Is he undercover here too?”

The Doctor shook his head “no, he decided that someone should do some research into this place. Just in case there’s something we need to know”.

“He didn’t want to be around Rose, did he?” the Phoenix questioned with a grin “not that I blame him”.

“Finally!” Rose said, suddenly appearing “I’ve been looking every…oh you’ve got to be kidding me!” she complained, seeing the Time Lady “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I’m investigating just like you two are”, the Phoenix replied.

“Well, we’ve got it under control so you can go away and take that freaky cat of yours too”, Rose said rather rudely.

The Phoenix raised her brows but before she could say anything, the Doctor spoke up. “Rose, that’s enough. I’m tired of you being so rude and snarky towards her. And I’ll say again that I don’t appreciate you flirting with me”.

“You didn’t seem to mind when I kissed you at the hospital in New New York”, Rose countered, her voice taking on a more playful tone “in fact I know you _loved_ it”.

“I didn’t like it”, the Doctor gritted out. He’d tried to push Rose/Cassandra away when she’d done that but she had been far too clingy. “There’s only one person I would ever want to kiss and that’s not you Rose Tyler”, he spat. He turned to the Time Lady, the brunette a little startled by the tender look in his eyes, a very quick shift from being angry at the human. The Phoenix’s hearts jumped as he caressed her cheek. _Its all part of the plan_ she had to mentally remind herself _it doesn’t mean anything_. The Doctor leant in “ _I love you Enya_ ”, he whispered into her ear and then softly yet lovingly kissed her.

The Time Lady felt a familiar warmth spread through her body, the same kind she got every time Jack had kissed her. She was rather startled to be getting that reaction from herself as it was her best friend not her lover that was kissing her. There was his little declaration in Gallifreyan no less. She honestly hadn’t expected that at all. She’d eventually disregarded the first time he had said that he loved her because his regeneration was going wrong, he didn’t mean it. She was sure he didn’t mean it this time either, it was part of the act. However, there was a small part of her that argued that if it was all an act, why say it in Gallifreyan? Rose can’t understand the language. And the way he said it…definitely did something to her. _Stop it! Its and act! Don’t read into it!_ a voice inside her head scolded. Yes, that’s all it was. An act. A very, very convincing act.

Rose tried to avert her gaze from the Time Lords making out in front of her but she found herself watching them, jealousy welling up inside of her. _This is just some ploy to make me stop flirting with him_ she thought _well, its not gonna work. He can’t truly love her. She’s so rude and uncaring! He deserves someone a thousand times better…someone like me_. “How could you do that to Jack?” the blonde demanded forcing the pair to part “I thought you loved him!”

“I do but I also love the Doctor as well”, the Phoenix informed her and Rose glared “oh don’t look at me like that, but I could tell you about the cultures and planets were the people have more than one lover at a time. In fact in some cases its expected of you. However, it would take a very long time, longer than your lifespan”.

“But…”

“Rose, you and I aren’t going to happen. Ever. So just forget about it”, the Doctor cut in sternly wrapping an arm around the Phoenix’s waist.

“I hate you”, the blonde spat and spun on her heel, stomping off.

“I think that went well”, the Phoenix lightly remarked “she probably won’t flirt with you for a little bit AND she hates me even more. So all in all, a success”.

“Yeah, it was”, the Doctor agreed, smiling to himself about the kiss. He had definitely enjoyed it and hoped that they could do it again, even if it was under the guise of getting Rose to back off. Though in the back of his mind, he did worry about what Jack might do if he ever found out about this. He had no idea if that second phoenix had done more than just revive Jack at the Game Station. He wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of a superpowered man hunting him down for making out with the mother of his child.

\-------------

A couple of hours later, the Phoenix slipped into one of the computer labs to do a bit of snooping. She’d tried to do it when she first arrived but was stopped by the IT teacher, she couldn’t remember his name…though she did remember that she got an unpleasant feeling from that encounter. “Right, no Mr IT Man to stop me this time”, she muttered “let’s see if you’re hiding anything”. The Phoenix flexed her fingers and started to type.

Over in the canteen, the Doctor shifted in the uncomfortable plastic chair for the third time, glancing at the clock. Ten minutes. This wasn’t like the Time Lady at all to be late, that was usually him, not that he would admit it out loud. It was possible that she had some marking to do and that was what was delaying her. The Phoenix had always taken this undercover thing more seriously than he ever did. _She show. She always does_ he though picking up a chip and nibbled on the end. He made a face and spat it out. That was gross!

Back in the computer lab, the Time Lady was staring in horror at the code on the screen. Her entire frame trembled with fury at the thought of the children being used to crack the Skasis Paradigm. “Someone is going to die today”, she growled, her eyes shining reddish-gold as the Firebird within begged to be let loose. But she wasn’t going to unleash her fury until all the children were safe. The Phoenix’s eyes flickered over to the fire alarm and she smiled. She moved over to it, setting her hand alight. She waited for a moment and then it started to blare. Within minutes she could hear commotion in the corridor as the school began to evacuate.

The Phoenix watched through the window in the doors at the kids running past. Once the stampede had gone, she left the lab and went straight for Finch’s office. She knew he had to be involved, him and those other new teachers. Everything had started happening since they had arrived. She had neared the office when she heard Finch talking to the others in the Staff Room. “I want you to find the trouble maker who set that off”, he ordered “Nothing will stop us from cracking the code”.

The Time Lady walked through the door, smirking at the startled looks on their faces. Oh she loved freaking them out by being able to phase through walls and doors like a ghost. “You don’t need to find the ‘troublemaker cos I’m right here”, she declared “and I AM the one who’s gonna stop you from cracking the code”.

Finch laughed “You? You’re just a _teacher_ ” he sneered “that little trick of yours will only serve to allow you to run away from us”.

“And what makes you think I’ll run away from you lot?” the Phoenix asked, the phoenix aura starting to appear around her, making Finch and the other Krillitane very uneasy “YOU are using children. Harming them for your own selfish gain! That will NOT stand! Not now. Not ever!” the aura grew stronger around her “I am the Phoenix! And you should never have come here”. The Time Lady raised her arms and cut loose.

Outside the school, the Doctor was frantically looking around for the Phoenix. “Nix where are you!” he called, eyes darting from adult to adult. No brunette haired Time Lady.

“Whats going on?” a familiar voice asked. The Doctor glanced to his left and saw his former companion, Sarah Jane Smith standing there.

“Fire drill”, the Doctor replied. He wanted to be excited over seeing her again, he really did but he was more worried over the whereabouts of the Phoenix. Suddenly all the windows in the school exploded outward!

“Not so much a fire drill anymore”, Sarah Jane breathed, hand pressed over her mouth at the sight of the flames.

“Nix”, the Time Lord breathed, his hearts constricting in fear for the pregnant Time Lady. Yes, he knew that a little fire didn’t affect her given what she was descended from. Didn’t stop him from being afraid for her.

“You can’t go in there!” Rose exclaimed, rushing over to grab the Doctor’s arm as he started toward the school.

“The Phoenix is in there!” the Time Lord shouted back “I have to help her!”

“What good can you do her Doctor?” Rose argued “she wont burn but you will!”

“She’s got a point”, Sarah Jane reluctantly agreed, both surprised and happy to see the Doctor again. Unlike the Phoenix, she didn’t think she would ever see the Time Lord.

“But I…”

“Doctor, she’ll be fine”, Sarah Jane assured.

“Sarah…she’s…she’s….” the Doctor trailed off when the flames disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. They waited, eagerly to see if the Time Lady will show. Rose rolled her eyes when she saw the Phoenix’s bird form fly out of the upper windows, partially obscured by the smoke. The Doctor took off, following the Time Lady.

When they got to an alley way, the Phoenix changed back. The Doctor was quick to dart forward, grabbing her as she collapsed. “I gotcha”, he said.

“You always do”, the Time Lady murmured, tiredly.


	17. Chapter 17

“You sure you don’t mind looking after Goose for a little bit?” the Phoenix asked Sarah Jane as she tinkered with her ship’s console. After a little bit of persuading on the Doctor’s part, she had agreed to go with him, Rose and Mickey for a trip or two before taking her companion and furry friend off elsewhere.

“Of course I don’t mind”, Sarah Jane replied “but I have to ask, are you alright?”

“I’m fine”, the Time Lady answered, setting down her tools “why?”

“You seem to have something on your mind”, Sarah Jane stated. She wasn’t stupid, the Time Lady had taught her to be observant and she could tell that something was bothering her. “Is it to do Finch’s plan with using the children?”

The Phoenix shook her head “No, it’s not”, she replied “it’s something else. I’m pregnant”.

Sarah Jane let out an excited noise. “Oh my god! You’re a mum!” she hugged the Time Lady “I’m so happy for you”.

“Thanks”, the Phoenix said with a smile.

“I bet the Doctor was happy at the news”, Sarah Jane remarked “you two will make great parents”.

The Time Lady’s smile dropped “uh…he’s not the father”, she mumbled “the dad doesn’t even know”.

“Oh”, the woman said “Nix, I’m sorry. I just thought you and the Doctor…” Sarah Jane had noticed the way the Doctor was around the Time Lady and so made the assumption based on his actions. It was pretty clear to her that he was in love with the Phoenix.

“It’s ok”, the Phoenix said.

“So where is the baby’s father now?” Sarah Jane enquired.

“Last time I saw him it was in a place way, way into the future. I don’t even know if he’s still there or whether he managed to get back to present day Earth”, the Phoenix admitted.

“Can’t the TARDIS track him down?” Sarah Jane questioned “I mean you are carrying his child now. Maybe she could find him via him or her?”

“I never considered that”, the Phoenix confessed “its not a half bad idea Sarah, thanks”.

“No problem, happy to help”, the woman said with a smile. The pair left the ship, the Time Lady making sure to lock it up. “Have fun, be careful and don’t let Rose bug you too much”, Sarah Jane said as the pair walked over to the Doctor’s TARDIS where the Time Lord was waiting with the Flerken and two humans.

“Geeze Sarah, what are you, my mother?” the Phoenix teased “I’m older than you”.

“Biologically, yes”, Sarah Jane agreed “physically, I look like I could be your mother”.

“Well, I’d be proud if you were my mum”, the Phoenix said, putting her arm around the woman’s shoulders, hugging her.

“And I would be very proud if you were my daughter”, Sarah Jane countered. The Phoenix let go of Sarah Jane and joined the others. She waved at the woman before entering the ship after the Doctor, Rose and Mickey. “Please be safe”, Sarah Jane whispered, watching the TARDIS disappear with a worried look on her face.

\----------------------

“She’s still the same”, the Phoenix commented, taking in the console room “I thought maybe she would change”.

“I guess the TARDIS felt like she didn’t need to change just cos I have”, the Doctor stated.

“I don’t understand”, Mickey piped up. The Phoenix had never told him about this.

“Oh, right. I left that part out in the Companion 101”, the Time Lady admitted “well, when a Time Lord or Lady regenerates, the ship changes her interior to reflect her pilot”.

“That’s pretty cool”, Mickey remarked.

“It sure is”, the Phoenix agreed “hey, do you think she’s kept my old room?”

“Why would the TARDIS do that?” Rose scoffed before the Doctor could answer “you have your own ship!”

“Nix might have her own ship but she’s stayed here a few times in the past”, the Doctor said, defensively “and there is no way the TARDIS would ever get rid it” he placed a hand on the Time Lady’s back “she’s my best friend” he glanced at the brunette “well, maybe a little bit more”. The Phoenix blushed at the look he was giving her. _It’s just part of the act_ she thought _to make Rose back off_.

“I think I’m gonna go find my old room now”, the Time Lady said, willing the red away from her cheeks. She then hastily headed into the depths of the ship. “Maybe I shouldn’t have suggested that we kiss”, she mumbled as she walked. It was starting to get confusing, especially when she felt the warmth within when the Doctor kissed her. She was in love with Jack! So why did she react that way to her best friend?

Thankfully it didn’t take her very long to find her room which was carved with a phoenix. The Time Lady gently traced it, smiling softly. The Phoenix closed her eyes, letting the memories wash over her. Suddenly she felt the door vanish beneath her hand and she opened her eyes, eyeing the blank wall quizzically. “Why did you….” she started

“Phoenix we need to talk”, Rose declared, appearing around the corner.

“Oh, that’s why”, the Phoenix grumbled. Trust the bloody human to show up and ruin her trip down memory lane. “What do you want Rose?”

“I want you to stop toying with the Doctor”, Rose demanded “I know you don’t love him”.

“Yes I do”, the Phoenix said “I love him and he loves me”.

“As if”, Rose scoffed “why would he love _you_? You clearly aren’t very loyal. I mean, you cheating on your boyfriend with your alleged ‘best friend’! What kind of person could do that to someone they supposedly love? I know what kind…a selfish…uncaring and harsh person like you” Rose prodded the Phoenix in the chest, hard. The Time Lady’s jaw clenched, she was very temped to break the little brat’s hand! “You are most definitely not right woman for the Doctor. You probably weren’t the right one for Jack either…”

 _Ok, that’s it!_ Rose yelped as the Phoenix pushed her into the wall. “You’re lucky I don’t like to kill anymore otherwise, you’d be dead already”, she growled. She stepped away from the blonde.

“I find that hard to believe. You killed Finch and those other teachers easy enough”, Rose reminded her.

“They weren’t people. They were Krillitanes”, the Phoenix corrected.

“Dead is dead”, Rose shot back.

“Look you stupid little ape, I have killed thousands. I _will_ kill thousands more to keep those I love safe”, the brunette gritted out “and…it scares me”, she turned away from Rose “The Time War has twisted me into something that I don’t even recognise anymore”, she said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself “I’m terrified that one day I’m just going to lose control and destroy everything that I hold most dear”.

“If you’re so afraid of hurting the ones you love then maybe you shouldn’t be around the Doctor then”, Rose stated “you want to keep him safe, you stay away”.

The Phoenix sighed “yeah, you're right", she agreed and Rose smirked triumphantly "I should stay away".

"No, you shouldn't", the Doctor spoke up, having appeared with Mickey while they were talking "you wouldn't hurt any of us".

"You can't know that!" The Time Lady exclaimed.

"Yes, I can", the Doctor said. He stepped forward, lightly grasping her hands "Nix, I've known you all of my lives. You’ve never once harmed anyone with your powers”.

“That was before the War”, the Phoenix pointed out “with everything that I did…with everything that they…” she trailed off, not wanting to tell the Doctor the truth about what the Time Lords had done to her “I can’t take the chance”, she pulled her hands out of his. The Time Lady then took off.

“Nix, wait!” Mickey called, chasing after her.

“Mickey, please, I need to go”, the Time Lady insisted “the Doctor will make sure you have an incredible time”.

“I know about the baby”, the man said as she took out her phone. There was only one way to get out of the TARDIS while in the time vortex and that was Raven.

“He told you?” the Phoenix asked, quietly, staring at her companion “Why?”

“The Doctor wanted to make sure that you had someone else you’d look out for both of you as I would”, Mickey replied “it’s also why _I_ know you’d never hurt anyone. You’re going to be a mother. Your son or daughter will be the reason that you stay in control” the Phoenix lowered the phone “please stay Nix”.

“Ok”, the Time Lady whispered, putting her phone away “I’ll stay”.

Mickey smiled “great”, he said and gave her a careful hug “congratulations by the way”.

“Thanks”, the Phoenix said.

“So what are you hoping for? Boy or girl?” Mickey asked.

“I don’t know. I’m happy with either”, the Time Lady replied.

“Well, I think if you had a girl, she would be just like you”, Mickey said, slinging an arm around her shoulders “smart, funny and badass. Those male royals don’t stand a chance!”

The Phoenix laughed and from the doorway, the Doctor smiled. Mickey really was good for her.

\-------------

"Blimey, this place seems like its seen better days", the Phoenix remarked, taking in the room they'd appeared in.

"Doesn't look like anyone is here either", Mickey added "though, they could be hiding".

"I'll do a quick scan to check", the Doctor said going over to the control panel in the centre of the room. The last thing he wanted to was to bring the person he was in love with, who was pregnant no less, into a dangerous situation. Yes, she could handle herself quite easily but that wasn’t going to stop him from making sure there wasn't anything that would harm her or the baby.

“So, what's the date? How far we gone?” Rose asked.

“About three thousand years into your future, give or take”, the Time Lord replied. He pulls on a switch which turns the lights on. Mickey and Rose stared up in awe as the roof gradually opened into a window showing them a spectacular view of the stars.

"You're a long way from home Mickey, two and a half galaxies", the Phoenix said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Those stars look familiar", the man remarked eyeing the formation.

"It should. I once showed you it through the telescope", the Time Lady reminded him.

"Oh! I remember! It's the Diagmar Cluster", Mickey exclaimed.

"Gold star to Mickey Smith!" the Phoenix proclaimed.

"You taught him that?" Rose asked, somewhat jealous.

"Of course. All my companions need to know something about the place their travelling", the Phoenix replied "not surprised that the Doctor hasn't taught you anything. He's not one for teaching. He more for winging it".

Mickey laughed “Yeah, he does seem to do that”, he agreed “especially when he told Queen Victoria that he was from the town of Balamory” the Phoenix burst out in fits of giggles “oh and called Rose a timorous beastie” and that had the Time Lady laughed harder. Rose scowled at Mickey from bringing it up.

“Oh, man I wish I’d been there”, she chuckled.

“Sadly we can’t go back. We were kinda banished”, Mickey admitted.

“Good thing that I’m good personal friends with Queen Victoria and her husband”, the Phoenix told him “you’ll be allowed back as long as you’re with me”.

“Dear me, had some cowboys in here”, the Doctor commented before either Rose or Mickey could say anything to her words “Got a ton of repair work going on. Now that's odd. Look at that. All the warp engines are going…full capacity! There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe…and we're not moving”.

“That doesn’t make sense”, the Phoenix stated, coming to join him at the console, frowning at the screen “all that power to the engines and not moving…it has to be going elsewhere. But where is it going and what the hell is it powering?”

“Your guess is as good as mine”, the Doctor replied.

“If this ship has all that power, then the crew must’ve done it”, Mickey stated “so where are they?”

“Good question”, the Doctor answered. He leant forward and tweaks some knobs on the control panel There’s no life readings on board”.

“Well, we're in deep space. They didn't just nip out for a quick fag”, Rose joked.

“Of course they didn’t. I’ve scanned the entire ship and there’s no one. Not even in the smoking pods”, the Doctor said. The Time Lord then sniffed the air catching a whiff of something cooking. “Can you smell that?”

Mickey, Rose and the Phoenix smelled the air as well “Yeah, someone's cooking”, Rose agreed.

“Sunday roast, definitely”, Mickey added.

“I don’t think it is”, the Time Lady mumbled, looking a bit green. She knew the smell of a Sunday roast and that was most definitely not what was wafting through the air. It was making her feel rather ill. “Excuse me”, she said, clapping a hand of over her hand and rushed to a corner where she threw up. The Doctor joined the Phoenix, holding her hair back with one hand and rubbing her back with his other as she retched. “Ugh, I forgot about this part”, she muttered “morning sickness”.

“Do you want to wait in the TARDIS?” the Time Lord suggested “where the smell isn’t so bad”.

“No, I’ll be…” the Phoenix broke off, coughing “No. No. I’m staying”, she said firmly, straightening up “morning sickness never stopped me the first time, it wont stop me now”.

The Doctor stared at her “Wait, this isn’t your first?” he asked. She had never mentioned that she had been pregnant before. So he’d just assumed this was her first time.

The Phoenix shook her head “No, its not”, she replied “and I don’t want to talk about it, not now”.

“Ok”, the Doctor said. It seems like he was going to learn something new about his best friend which didn’t happen very often.

“Now, I saw something interesting on the panel”, the Phoenix said, going back over to it, popping a small sweetie into her mouth to get rid of the horrible taste of puke and leave her breath smelling nice. “This key looks a little out of place”, she stated and pressed it. A wall slid back to reveal a corridor behind it.

The group walked through the entrance to find a section of wall and floor styled in 18th century décor. “Well, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship. Eighteenth century! French”, the Doctor said using his sonic on the ornate fireplace “Nice mantle. Not a hologram. It's not even a reproduction. This actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double sided”.

The Phoenix crouched down, sticking her hand through the flames. “The fire is real enough too”, she reported. She jumped when she heard a scream. There was a small blonde haired girl gaping at her from the other side of the fire.

“You’re burning your hand!” she cried.

“Oh, no I’m not”, the Phoenix assured her “I’m fireproof” she stuck her hand further through the fire “see? I’m fine”. The Time Lady stuck her other hand through the flames as well as her head. The girl giggled as she made animals with her fingers adding silly noises to match.

“You’re funny”, she declared “I’m Reinette. What’s your name?”

“I’m the Phoenix. But you can just call me Nix. Everyone does”, the Time Lady replied “Reinette, can you tell me when are were you are?”

“My bedroom, in my home in Paris”, Reinette told her. 

“Oh, I love Paris. What year is it?” the Time Lady questioned “Just out of interest”.

“1727”, the girl answered.

“That’s one of my favourites!” the Doctor said, happily, dropping down to his knees beside the Time Lady, through he refrained from doing what she did as he wasn’t fireproof like she was “August is rubbish though. Stay indoors, Reinette”.

“You better head to bed Reinette”, the Phoenix said.

“Ok, Goodnight Monsieur, Madame”, the girl said to them both.

“Goodnight Reinette”, the Time Lady said, pulling her head and hands out of the fire.

“I don’t understand, how can there be a room behind the fireplace that’s in the 18th century when we clearly appear to be in a ship from the future”, Mickey said, confused.

“The ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe”, the Doctor reminded him “I think we just found the hole. Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink”. 

“That’s not a word”, Mickey stated “its more a ‘time window’ of sorts”.

“Don’t tell me that was part of your crash course too”, Rose griped.

“It was”, Mickey said “Nix wanted to make sure I was pretty prepared”.

_That’s so not fair_ Rose thought, even more annoyed. She hated how Mickey seemed to be in the know with all this stuff, thanks to the Phoenix while she, who’d been a companion the longest, was completely clueless.

“You never know what you might happen to come across while travelling through time and space”, the Phoenix said as she prodded the fireplace. There had to be a way of opening it that didn’t involve crawling through the fire. She would be ok but the others…not so much.

“I don’t suppose you’d give me that crash course?” Rose asked which made all three stare at her as if she had grown a second head.

“Of course I will” Rose started to smile “When hell freezes over”. That had both Mickey and the Doctor snickering.

“I’m sure your friend could pull some strings to make that happen”, the Time Lord remarked.

“Probably”, the Time Lady agreed turning back to the fireplace “though I know she would rather be pulling something else rather than ‘strings’” she proceeded to inspect it “…fingers…toes…limbs…” she discovered the movable part of the fireplace “ah ha!” the Time Lady kneed it and the Doctor was quick to step up next to her as it started to turn.

Once the fireplace had finished turning, the pair found themselves in a dark room. Reinette sat up as the sound of the fireplace turning woke her. “Reinette, its ok. Its just us”, the Phoenix softly assured her. The brunette walked across the room with the Time Lord and lit the candle with a snap of her fingers. “We were talking just a moment ago in your fireplace”.

The little girl frowned “but Monsieur that was months ago!” Both the Doctor and The Phoenix where surprised about that.

“Really?” the Doctor said surprised. He went back to the fireplace while The Phoenix stayed by Reinette’s bed. The Time Lord tapped on the fireplace and listened to the sound it makes. “Must be a loose connection. Need to get a man in”, he remarked.

The Phoenix opened her mouth to say something when she noticed that the sound of ticking was awfully loud. “I think your fireplace isn’t the only thing that needs fixing, your clock’s ticking is pretty loud”, she commented.

“Uh Nix? The clock isn’t ticking. Its broken”, the Doctor said, eyeing the cracked face of the ornate item.

“If its broken…then what is making that noise?” the Time Lady questioned. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from as it was loud.

“That’s a good question”, the Doctor said. He went over to the large curtains that were covering the windows, pulling them back. There was nothing behind them. The Time Lord glanced at the Phoenix and then at Reinette who was still sitting on the bed. That’s the only other place the source of the ticking could be hiding.

“Reinette, I want you to stay where you are. Don’t move”, the Time Lady instructed, slowly going over to the bed. The Phoenix crouched down, pulling out her sonic and scanned beneath the bed.

“Nix!” the Doctor exclaimed, rushing over to her when she was suddenly knocked backwards. 

“I’m ok”, the Time Lady assured him as he helped her up. She then noticed the figure standing up on the other side of the bed. “Reinette don’t look round”, she whispered to the girl who was trembling “just keep looking at me, ok?”

“Ok”, Reinette said, quietly.

“Now, what the hell do you want?” she demanded of the figure with the creepy clown mask “why hide under this poor child’s bed?”

The man didn’t answer her. “I’m going to try something if that’s ok Reinette?” the Doctor asked the girl. The blonde glanced at the Phoenix who nodded in encouragement.

“Ok”, Reinette agreed. The Doctor put his hands of the girl’s head and looked into her eyes.

“You’ve been scanning her brain!” he said shocked that whatever this thing was had travelled so far just to scan a child’s brain. “What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?” the Doctor asked but again the figure didn’t answer. The Phoenix’s eyes widened at that.

“You want me?” Reinette asked turning around to look at the figure.

“Not yet. You are incomplete”, the figure said in a robotic like voice.

“What do you mean incomplete?” the Doctor asked. Again the robot didn’t answer. He stood up as did The Phoenix. “You can answer her, you can answer me. What do you mean, incomplete?” he demanded pulling out his sonic screwdriver. The robot didn’t answer him either. Instead it walked jerkily around the bed. The Doctor moved to stand in front of the Phoenix as robot extends an arm and slides out a metal blade from it. The Time Lord calmly moved his head way.

“Monsieur, Madame be careful”, Reinette said afraid for the pair.

“Just a nightmare, Reinette, don't worry about it. Everyone has nightmares”, the Doctor said backing away, ensuring the Time Lady was behind him. He wasn’t about to let her or the baby get hurt.

The Phoenix glanced at the fireplace. “I’m sorry”, she said to the Doctor who looked at her confused before she sent him through it just like she’d done at the museum. “Now, its just us”, the Time Lady said, glaring at the robot “you want to know what monsters under the bed have nightmares about, Reinette? They’re about me!”

The girl let out a small scream as the Time Lady set the robot ablaze. “Does this mean I’m safe now?” Reinette asked.

“Yes, you are”, the Phoenix confirmed. The girl jumped off the bed and ran over to give her a hug when all of a sudden a second creepy mask wearing robot appeared, going straight for the Time Lady, tackling her straight into the fireplace. The Phoenix took hold of the robot, bring them both through it.

“Nix!” the Doctor cried seeing the Time Lady stumble through the fireplace with a different robot. Mickey spotted a gun thing on the wall and quickly snatched it up.

“Nix, move!” he ordered. The Phoenix hastily complied, almost falling over as she did so if it wasn’t for the Doctor managing to catch her in time. Mickey used the item in his hands, freezing the robot in place.

“Nice one, Mick”, the Phoenix said, looking at him proudly.

“Why did you send me through the fireplace?” the Doctor asked her. 

“I was keeping you safe”, the Phoenix answered, moving out of his arms.

“But you could’ve been hurt!” the Time Lord cried “it was an unnecessary risk to both you and the baby!”

“You’re pregnant?!” Rose exclaimed.

“We were fine”, the Phoenix argued, ignoring the blonde “besides its not like I haven’t had to protect myself in this state before. I kept my last child safe and I’ll do the same with this one! And I don’t need your help to do it!”

“I know you don’t ”, the Doctor quietly “You can be mad at me all you want but I’m not going to stop protecting you two” he touched her cheek “I care about you _Enya_ ” the Time Lady’s expression softened at his use of her childhood name “and the baby. I will whatever it takes to keep you both safe”.

“Oh, _Theta_ ”, the Phoenix whispered and hugged him “I’m sorry”.

“You don’t need to be sorry. It’s not your fault”, the Doctor said “it’s mine”.

“I can’t believe you never said that you were having a baby”, Rose piped up.

“One, I didn’t know until the Doctor told me after the Sycorax invasion. Two, it was none of your business”, the Phoenix shot back “you’re not my friend Rose so why would I share something like that with you?”

“Please tell me you’re not the father”, Rose said, looking at the Doctor. She couldn’t handle it if the person she was crushing on was having a kid with the Time Lady she hated.

“No I’m not but it doesn’t make a difference”, the Doctor replied, placing a hand on the Phoenix’s back “I’m going to take care of them both”.

“Maybe we should talk about this later?” Mickey suggested before Rose could argue “I don’t think the ice is going to hold the robot for much longer”. He nodded to the frozen robot.

“Good idea”, the Doctor agreed and they went over to it.

“Why’s it dressed so strangely?” Mickey questioned, setting down the ice gun/fire extinguisher.

“Field trip to France. Some kind of basic camouflage protocol. Nice needlework, shame about the face” the Doctor pulled off the robot’s wig to reveal a plastic egg shaped head containing ornate clockwork mechanism “Oh, you are beautiful!” _not as much as a certain someone_ he thought, casting a glance at the Phoenix, who was eyeing the ornate clockwork mechanism in the robot’s head, curiously “No, really, you are. You're gorgeous!”

“Interesting design”, she murmured.

“I’ve honestly got chills”, the Doctor admitted “Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart, and, by the way, count those, it would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you”, he said getting out his sonic. Not only did the first robot tried to hurt both himself and the Time Lady; this one had come very close to seriously harming the Phoenix and her unborn child. That was something he wouldn’t let pass. “But that won't stop me”, he continued but before he could do anything, the robot teleported away.

“Ugh teleports. Hate those”, the Phoenix grumbled “that must be a short range one so it can’t have gotten far” she headed back to the fireplace “I’m gonna go check on Reinette, make sure she’s ok. Doctor want to come with?”

“Sure”, the Time Lord replied.

“What shall we do?” Mickey asked.

“It’ll be best if you two wait here”, the Phoenix answered “its too dangerous to go after that robot on your own. We’ll search for it once we get back”.

“You got it”, Mickey said, giving her a mock salute before she and the Doctor made the fireplace turn around once more.

Rose picked up the fire extinguisher, weighing it in her hands. “Nix told us we need to stay”, Mickey said, knowing what she was about to do.

“I’m not Nix’s companion. I don’t have to do what she says”, Rose said stubbornly and walked off.

Mickey groaned “and this is why Nix would never have chosen her as a companion”, he complained, picking up another fire extinguisher and chasing after her “already broke the ‘don’t be dumbass rules”.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The room The Phoenix and the Doctor appeared in was completely different to the only they’d been in only moments ago. “Reinette…Just checking you're okay…” the Doctor called out as he and the Phoenix stepped away from the fireplace. As he idly brushes his hand across the strings of a harp, a young blonde haired woman entered the room.

“Hello”, The Phoenix said causing the Doctor to turn around and see the young woman “We were looking for Reinette. Is she here?” the Time Lady asked.

“Reinette! We're ready to go!” a female’s voice called from the doorway.

“Go to the carriage, Mother. I will join you there”, the blonde woman called back. The Phoenix’s eyes widened and a grin spread across the Doctor’s face when they both realised that the young woman in front of them was Reinette. “It is customary, I think, to have imaginary friends only during one's childhood. You are both to be congratulated on your persistence”, Reinette said teasingly.

“Reinette!” the Doctor said amazed and the woman smiled.

“You look good Reinette, all grown up”, the Phoenix said. 

“Thank you. I may have grown up but the two of you do not appear to have aged a single day. That is tremendously impolite of you”, Reinette said, her eyes fixed on the Doctor.

“Right…yes…sorry. Um…umm…umm…listen, lovely to catch up, but better be off, eh? Don't want your mother finding you up here with a couple of strangers, do we?” the Doctor stammered.

“But we’re not strangers to her. She’s known us since she was a little girl”, the Phoenix reminded him “We kinda went the quick route”, the Time Lady added to Reinette “sorry”.

The blonde haired woman touched the Phoenix’s cheek. “Mademoiselle! Your mother grows impatient”, a servant called.

“A moment!” Reinette called back, annoyed at the interruption. She looked back at the Doctor and the Phoenix “So many questions. So little time”, she said. Without warning the blonde kissed the Time Lady! “I’ve always wanted to that”, Reinette softly admitted when she pulled back. She knew it was improper to have fallen in love with a woman but she couldn’t help it. The Phoenix was beautiful with amazing powers.

“Mademoiselle Poisson!” the servant called again sounding much closer than before. Giving the time travellers one last look, Reinette hurries to the open door, grabbing her purse from her dressing table on the way. The servant that was calling comes to the door but stops dead when he noticed the Doctor and the Phoenix.

“Did I hear right? Did you say Poisson?” the Time Lady asked, still a bit surprised by the kiss. While she had kissed a couple of girls in the past, she had to admit to being a little taken aback by this one. Probably because Reinette was a little girl five minutes ago, at least she was to them.

“I did”, the servant confirmed, though he was very confused by the strangely dressed couple standing there. The Phoenix glanced at the Doctor and grinned.

“I was kissed by Madame de Pompadour!” she said somewhat excitedly making the Time Lord laugh “Mickey will not believe this. Come on!”

The Phoenix grabbed the Doctor’s hand and ran towards the fireplace. The servant gaped in disbelief as they went right through it like ghosts! “I must be going mad”, he mumbled before leaving the room.

When the Time Lords reached the other side, they found that both Rose and Mickey were gone. The Doctor groaned. “I thought you said for them to stay put!”

“I did”, the Phoenix said “I bet Rose ran off to look for that robot and Mickey followed to make sure that she didn’t get into any trouble”.

“That wouldn’t surprise me”, the Doctor grumbled “why couldn’t I have you choose my companion?”

“I’ll choose the next one for you”, the Time Lady promised “now! Let’s go find them”.

“Hopefully we can find them fast”, the Doctor remarked as they started to walk “there could be anything on this ship besides robots”. When the pair rounded the corner to discover a white horse.

“Well…that’s defined as anything”, the Phoenix remarked.

\----------------

The Doctor paused to look down a corridor before turning to the horse who’d nudged him with his nose. For some reason the animal had decided to follow them while they searched for Rose and Mickey. “Will you stop following me? I'm not your mother”, the Doctor said irritably.

“Aw, leave Arthur alone”, the Phoenix said stroking the horse’s nose.

“Arthur?”

“Well Shadowfax was already taken. Besides he looks like an Arthur”, the Phoenix said. The horse in question snorts and noses her “come on, we better keep looking”. The Time Lords continued walking until they came across a set of white, French double doors.

“So this is where you came from, eh, horsey?” the Doctor asked as he pulled the doors open. He and The Phoenix stepped through into a grassy courtyard. They headed to a low wall to watch Reinette walk arm in arm with a dark skinned woman.

“Oh, Katherine, you are too wicked!” Reinette laughed. The Doctor and the Phoenix ducked down when the blonde woman suddenly turned in their direction.

“Oh, speaking of wicked, I hear Madame de Chateauroux is ill and close to death”, Katherine remarked.

Now that Reinette’s attention was diverted, the Doctor and the Phoenix stood up. “Yes”, she said seriously “I am devastated”. Katherine laughed and said

“Oh, indeed. I myself am frequently inconsolable. The King will therefore be requiring a new mistress. You love the King, of course?”

“He is the King, and I love him with all my heart. And I look forward to meeting him”, Reinette replied. The Doctor and the Phoenix ducked down again when she looked over in their direction.

“Is something wrong, my dear?” Katherine asked.

“Not wrong, no”, Reinette replied. For a moment she thought that she had seen the Phoenix and was disappointed when it was just her imagination. Becoming the King’s mistress was the best thing for her but secretly she wished that the Time Lady would show up again.

The Time Lords stood up again when the women walk off. “Every woman in Paris knows your ambitions”, Katherine said.

“Every woman in Paris shares them”, Reinette pointed out.

“You know of course that the King is to attend the Yew Tree ball?” Katherine asked.

“As am I”, Reinette replied.

\----------------

“Out with it”, the Phoenix suddenly said as she and the Doctor continued to walk. Ever since seeing Reinette in the garden, she could tell there was something he had been wanting to say.

“Out with what?” the Time Lord asked, ‘innocently’.

“You want to say something. My guess its about Reinette kissing me”, the Phoenix replied “if you were wondering if I was expecting it, the answer is: no, I wasn’t. Did I like it? Yes, I did” the Doctor shot her a surprised look “oh come on! I’ve lived over 8 centuries. Some of that time I’ve had a couple of flings with ladies. Bet you’ve kissed a man or two”.

“No”, the Doctor said quickly and the Phoenix raised a brow at his hasty answer.

“Right”, she said slowly, not believing him “you know there is nothing wrong with having a little fun with someone in the same gender. If Jack was here he’d agree with me”. The Time Lady stopped walking and sighed sadly, touching her stomach.

“You miss him”, the Doctor said quietly.

“So much it hurts”, the Time Lady whispered, tears appearing in her eyes “I just wish I knew he was ok”.

The Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder “I’m sure he’s alright. Jack can take care of himself”, he assured her.

“Actually, that’s not strictly speaking true. The first time I met him in this body, he was almost killed by the same guys who hired him to find this tablet to thing”, the Phoenix told him “if I hadn’t shown up when I did, he would’ve been dead and we’d never be expecting our second baby”.

“Nix, I know you didn’t want to talk about…you know…earlier…” the Doctor said carefully.

“I suppose now is as good a time as any”, the Phoenix said. She took a breath “A long time ago, I met Jack for the first time. He was a charmer back then too” she cracked a small smile as she remembered “it was only supposed to be a little fling but then…then we fell in love. Pretty soon after that, we were expecting our first child. Everything was going fine right up to the birth”.

“Oh, Nix”, the Doctor breathed, his hearts breaking for her. To have been so close to having a family only for it to have been taken from her at the last moment. It was incredibly cruel. More so than if she’d miscarried. “I’m so sorry”, he hugged her carefully “nothing will happen to you or this baby, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you both safe”, he vowed. 

“Thank you”, the Phoenix said “Doctor, please promise me that you’ll keep this to yourself. It was hard enough to admit it to you”, she said, stepping back.

“I promise”, the Time Lord promised. They continued walking until they heard Mickey say

“Blimey, look at this guy. Who does he think he is?”

“That’s the King of France”, the Doctor replied, stopping beside them with the Time Lady, eyeing the King.

“Before you say anything Nix, I had to follow her to make sure she didn’t get into trouble”, Mickey explained.

“I figured you wouldn’t have run off after I told you not to”, the Phoenix said “unlike some people” she shot Rose a glare “you know not to break the ‘don’t be dumbass rules’”.

The blonde snorted “don’t be dumbass rules?” she repeated “seriously?”

“Yes”, the Phoenix said “I have them in order to keep both myself and my companion alive. Travelling through time and space needs to be taken seriously. It isn’t a joke”.

“I take it seriously!” Rose argued and the Time Lady just raised a brow.

“Was Reinette ok?” Mickey asked, quickly changing the subject.

“She was fine. Though it seems the connection with the time window is a bit iffy and we ended up meeting her when she was grown up”, the Phoenix replied.

“We also met a horse too”, the Doctor added when Arthur whinnied from around the corner.

“What's a horse doing on a spaceship?” Rose asked, gaping at it.

“What's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective Rose”, the Doctor said and the Time Lady snickered. The blonde haired teenager glared at the pregnant brunette.

“You know, I find it intriguing that all these time windows appear to be deliberately arranged along Reinette’s life”, the Phoenix remarked, having taken note of this while they were trying to find Mickey and Rose. “A spaceship from the fifty first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. _Why_?”

“Who is she?” Rose asked.

“Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived”, the Doctor answered.

“So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?” Rose questioned.

“Nope. He’s already got a Queen. She's got plans of being his mistress”, the Phoenix replied.

“Oh, I get it. Camilla”, Rose said. She and Mickey both laughed at that.

“I think this is the night they met. The night of the Yew Tree ball” the Doctor said after the King left “In no time at flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace. Even her own title. Madame de Pompadour”.

“The Queen must have loved her”, Rose commented as Reinette checked her reflection in the mirror/window.

“Oh, she did. They get on very well”, the Doctor informed them.

“The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?” Mickey asked surprised.

“France, it’s like a different planet”, the Phoenix said before stiffening when her ears picked up the tell-tale ticking of a clock. She snatched the fire extinguisher from Mickey and darted through the mirror the second she noticed the clockwork robot in the room.

“Nix!” Reinette cried, relieved to see the Time Lady.

“Hey lovely lady”, the Phoenix greeted with a smile before spraying the robot with the fire extinguisher causing it to freeze up. She dropped it to the floor, moving to stand protectively in front of Reinette as it began to click and whirr loudly.

“What's it doing?” Mickey asked as he, Rose and the Doctor entered the room having pushed the mirror open.

“Switching back on. Melting the ice”, the Doctor replied.

“And then what?” Rose questioned.

“Then it kills everyone in the room”, the Phoenix answered “well, it can certainly try but I make sure it doesn’t”. The clockwork robot’s arm shot out to grab her by the throat but she grabbed its wrist.

“Who are you? Identify yourself”, the Doctor demanded, glaring at the robot, itching to dismantle it for trying to harm the Time Lady. The clockwork robot woman cocked its head but didn’t answer “Order it to answer me”, the Doctor said to Reinette.

“Why should it listen to me?” Reinette asked.

“It did when you were a little girl”, the Phoenix replied “Let's see if you've still got it Reinette”.

“Answer the Doctor’s question. Answer any and all questions put to you”, the woman instructed the robot. The Phoenix released its arm, though she stayed on guard in case the robot tried anything.

“I am repair droid seven”, it replied. 

“What happened to the ship, then?” the Doctor asked “There was a lot of damage”.

“Ion storm. Eighty two percent systems failure”, the robot explained.

“That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?” the Time Lord questioned.

“We did not have the parts”

“Always comes down to that, doesn't it? The parts”, Mickey said with a laugh.

“What's happened to the crew? Where are they?” the Doctor pressed.

“We did not have the parts”, the robot repeated.

“There should have been over fifty people on your ship. Where did they go?” the Doctor questioned, not quite getting what the robot was telling them. The Phoenix on the other hand, understood what the robot was trying to say and it made her blanche.

“Into the ship. They used the crew”, she said, taking shallow breathed to prevent herself from throwing up again. She couldn’t be sick at a time like this! Not when there was danger in the room!

“The crew?” Mickey asked.

“We found a camera with an eye in it…and there was a heart… wired in to machinery”, Rose put in.

“It was just doing what it was programmed to. Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it could find” the Doctor added “No one told it the crew weren't on the menu” he turned to Rose “What did you say the flight deck smelt of?”

“Someone cooking….” Rose said quietly. The Phoenix turned rather white, pressing a hand over her mouth as the memory of the acrid scent appeared in her mind, causing her control to slip a little. 

The Doctor turned back to the robot “But what are you doing here? You've opened up time windows. That takes colossal energy. Why come here? You could have gone to your repair yard. Instead you come to eighteenth century France? Why?” he demanded wanting to get the answers as quickly as possible before the Phoenix was sick again as she really didn’t look well.

“One more part is required”, the robot answered.

“Then why haven't you taken it?” the Doctor asked. The robot jerked its head towards Reinette.

“She is incomplete”, the robot replied.

“What the heck does that mean?” the Phoenix mumbled “how is she incomplete?”

“She is incomplete”, the robot repeated and the Time Lady rolled her eyes.

“Could you be more vague?” she muttered, her annoyance helping to keep the nausea at bay but only just. 

“So, that's the plan, then. Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she's ‘done yet’?” the Doctor stated.

“Out of all the people in history, why did you choose her?” Mickey questioned.

“We are the same”, the robot answered.

“We are not the same. We are in no sense the same!” Reinette protested.

“We are the same”, the robot repeated. Reinette tried to advance but the Phoenix stopped her.

“Get out of here! Get out of here this instant!” she ordered and the robot teleports away.

“It's back on the ship. Rose, take Mickey and Arthur. Get after it. Follow it. Don't approach it, just watch what it does”, the Doctor instructed.

“Arthur?” Rose asked raising her eyebrows questioningly.

“It’s a good name for a horse”, The Phoenix replied.

“Yeah it is”, the Doctor agreed.

“More like stupid”, Rose muttered earning her a light whack in the arm by Mickey.

“Lets go find that robot”, he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her away.

“Excuse me”, the Phoenix said, moving away from the pair as quickly as she could before she threw up for the second time. The Doctor wasted no time going over to her, holding her hair out of the way and rubbing her back as she coughed. “Thanks”, she mumbled, leaning against the Time Lord.

“You’re welcome”, the Doctor said.

“Are you ok?” Reinette asked, looking at her worriedly.

“I’m fine, just a little sensitive to smells at the moment”, the Phoenix explained, fishing in her pocket for another sweet and popped it into her mouth. She sighed “that’s better”, she said, feeling the sick feeling subside. The Doctor stood up, helping her to her feet. “I better make sure there’s no more of those robots around”, the Phoenix said.

“Are you sure you’re up for it?” the Time Lord asked. She had been sick twice today and was still looking a little pale.

“Definitely”, the Phoenix replied. She started toward the door when the Doctor stopped her.

“Please be careful”, he said.

“I will”, she promised and left the room.

“Reinette, you're going to have to trust me. I need to find out what they're looking for. There's only one way I can do that. It won't hurt a bit”. Reinette nodded and the Doctor placed his fingers on her temples closing his eyes. Reinette closed her eyes as well.

“Fireplace man…you are inside my mind”, she said after a moment.

“Oh dear, Reinette. You've had some cowboys in here”, the Doctor said as he looked through her memories.

“You are in my memories. You walk among them”, Reinette breathed.

“If there's anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door and close it. I won't look. Ooh…actually… here's a door just there”, he said seeing one in her mind. Reinette opened her eyes and grins slyly. “You might want to clo...Ooh. Actually, several”

“To walk among the memories of another living soul…Do you ever get used to this?” Reinette asked closing her eyes.

“I don't make a habit of it”, the Doctor replied.

“How can you resist?” Reinette asked. 

“With some difficulty”, the Time Lord admitted “the robots think you’re not old enough but why?” Reinette flinches “Sorry, you might find old memories reawakening. Side effect”, the Doctor said not knowing that she flinched from his memories, not her own.

“Oh, such a lonely childhood…” Reinette said quietly.

“It'll pass. Stay with me”, the Doctor said.

“Oh, Doctor. So lonely. So very, very alone…” Reinette whispered.

“What do you mean, alone? You've never been alone in your life…” the Doctor’s eyes snap open “When did you start calling me Doctor?”

“Such a lonely little boy. Until you met your lovely Firebird”, the blonde continued, opening her eyes.

The Doctor stepped back from her “How did you do that?” he asked.

“A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction...”, Reinette explained. The Doctor stared at her, vulnerable. “Oh, Doctor”, Reinette said softly. She stepped towards him “Doctor who? It's more than just a secret, isn't it? One that you no doubt will share with the woman who you hold most dear in your hearts”.

“What did you see?” the Doctor asked tensing up slightly. What exactly did she see in his mind?

“That there comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance”, Reinette replied.

“Reinette I can’t”, the Doctor said pulling his hand out of hers.

“Of course you can”, Reinette assured him “she may have danced with someone else a while ago but nothing is stopping you from doing the same”.

“Doesn’t matter. It wouldn’t be right”, the Doctor told her. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t. It would be crossing a line that’ll be impossible to come back from and subsequently ruining the friendship he had to the Time Lady. That was a far too precious thing to lose when it was one of the only things that he had left.

“Dance with me instead then”, Reinette suggested.

“I can’t do that either”, the Doctor said firmly “tonight is the night you will dance with the King”.

Reinette smiled “then first I’ll make him jealous”, she stated. She took his head and led him out of the room.

\--------------

Rose stirred only to find that she was shacked to some sort of operating table with a clockwork robot standing over her. Across the room, Mickey was shackled the same way. “You’ve got to be kidding me”, he griped “ok, stay calm Mickey. Stay calm”.

“Stay calm! HOW can we possibly stay calm!” Rose exclaimed “we’re in serious trouble here!”

“I know but staying calm and keeping a level head will help us to figure out a way to get free”, Mickey explained “or to bide enough time for the Doctor and Nix to save us”.

“Oh, I suppose _Nix_ taught you that too?” the blonde snapped.

“No, its just common sense”, Mickey stated. Rose opened her mouth to argue when the clockwork robot that was standing over her spoke first.

“You are compatible”

“Well….you…you might want to think about that. You really, really, might, because…me and Mickey…we didn't come here alone, oh no! And trust me, you wouldn't want to mess with our designated driver” Rose said attempting to stall for time. She hoped that the Doctor would turn up soon. She couldn’t care less if the Time Lady showed up too. The robot standing over her thrusted a sharp, lethal looking tool in front of Rose’s face. She stared at it apprehensively. “Ever heard of the Daleks? Remember them? They had a name for our friend. They had myths about him, and a name. They called him the…” she broke off when she heard a loud banging and someone singing drunkenly in the distance.

“I could've danced all night, I could've danced all night…”

“They called him the… They called him the…the…”Rose tried again.

The Doctor staggered into the room, dancing with the Phoenix who was wearing a red 18th century gown decorated with gold lace. The Time Lord on the other hand, wasn’t in 18th century garb, he was still in his suit. Though his tie was around his head and he had a pair of sun glasses on his face. “And still have begged for mooore...I could've spread my wings and done a thou…” he stopped dancing and turned to Mickey and Rose, with his arm around the Phoenix’s waist. “Have you met the French? My…god, they know how to party”

“They sure do”, the Phoenix agreed. She didn’t bother with pretending to be drunk because well…in her current state, she wasn’t allowed to.

“Oh, look at what the cat dragged in”, Rose said sarcastically, mostly to the Phoenix “and what the hell are you wearing?”

“It’s a ballgown. Maybe you should get your eyes checked if you cant tell”, the Time Lady sassed making the Doctor let out a drunken laugh.

“What've you been doing? Where've you been?!” the blonde demanded.

“We were just at the Yew Tree Ball where I danced with a really nice young man”, the Phoenix replied “he was quite good and very polite”. The Doctor’s drunken façade slipped a tad to briefly show annoyance. He had been more than irritated how that human just wouldn’t leave her alone during the ball. If Reinette hadn’t held him back, he probably would’ve gone almost Oncoming Storm on him.

“I invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early”, he added and the Phoenix giggled.

“That was pretty impressive”, she remarked and the Doctor grinned, pleased.

“Do you know, they've never even seen a banana before!” the Time Lord removed his arm from around the Phoenix’s waist to step forward “Always take a banana to a party, Rose. Bananas are good”, he said sincerely. He then spotted the clockwork robots “Oh ho, ho, ho, ho, brilliant. It's you!” he said delighted. “You're my favourite, you are. You are the best! Do you know why? Because you're so thick. You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania”. 

“And so's your dad!” the Phoenix piped up and Mickey snickered. Rose shot them both a glare.

“Yeah what she said”, the Doctor said going over to her and putting his arm around her waist again. “Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for?” he asked.

“They’re keeping tabs on how old she is”, the Time Lady replied “Because this ship is thirty seven years old, and they think that when Reinette is thirty seven, when she's ‘complete’, then her brain will be compatible”, she explained.

The Doctor stepped away from her and approached one of the robots. “So, that's what you're missing, isn't it, hmm? Command circuit. Your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason, God knows what, only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do”.

“The brain is compatible”, the robot explained. Behind the Doctor, the Phoenix slowly inches towards a console, taking hold of a lever.

“Compatible? If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine”, the Doctor said taking off its mask and poured the contents of the goblet in his hand into the clockwork inside the robot. He then replaces its mask and pats it on the head. A second later the robot winds down. “Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves, it doesn't”, the Doctor explained suddenly sober. A robot in the corner of the room begins to advance but the Phoenix quickly pulls a lever, deactivating it. “Right, you two, that's enough lying about...” the Doctor used his sonic to release Rose and Mickey from their shackles “Time we got the rest of the ship turned off”.

“You ok?” the Phoenix asked, Mickey.

“Fine”, he replied “I like your dress by the way”.

“Thanks”, the Time Lady said, happily.

“Are those things safe?” Rose asked.

“Yep. Safe. Safe and thick, way I like them”, the Doctor replied pulling his tie down and taking off the sunglasses “Okay. All the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down” he feels his pockets “Zeus plugs. Where are my Zeus plugs? I had them a minute ago” the Phoenix held them up “thanks, _Enya_ ”.

Rose frowned. She’d heard him say that a few times now but she couldn’t understand it and the TARDIS was able to translate everything into English. All except for the moniker that the Doctor was calling the Phoenix. She hoped it wasn’t a term of endearment. “What did you just call her?” she questioned.

“None of your business”, the Doctor replied, more harshly than necessary.

“Quick question, how come the robots didn’t just open a time window to when Reinette was thirty seven?” Mickey questioned, thinking it was best to get back on track before Rose caused another argument.

“With the amount of damage to these circuits, they did well to hit the right century. Trial and error after that”, the Doctor said. He frowned as he tried to operate the computer “The windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?”

“What's that?” Rose asked when they heard an ominous pinging sound.

“Sounds like an incoming message”, the Phoenix replied “one of them must still be out there with Reinette!”

“That’s why I can't close the windows. There's an override!” the Doctor exclaimed.

“Uh…guys…” Mickey spoke up, noticing the robot that the Time Lord had disabled with the oil managed to expel it through its finger.

“Right. Many things about this are not good” the Doctor said as the rest of the robots come back to life “Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?” he asked as the pinging sounded again.

“She is complete. It begins”, the robot replied before they all teleported away.

“What's happening?” Rose asked.

“One of them must have found the right time window. Now it's time to send in the troops. And this time they're bringing back her head”, the Doctor replied gravely.

“The hell they are”, the Phoenix said, her eyes flashing red-gold “not if I have anything to say about it”.

\-------------------------------------------

32 year old Reinette stood by a window looking up at the sky. A shadow passes over a shaft of light spilling into the room through the doorway as someone slowly approaches. At the sound of footsteps, Reinette turned around. Fearing it was a clockwork robot, she checked the clock face and saw a familiar figure reflected its glass.

“Nix!” she cried, happily and hugged the Phoenix.

“Hey, lovely lady”, the Time Lady greeted back with a smile “I wish I was here under better circumstances”, The Phoenix said.

“What do you mean?” Reinette asked, confused.

“I’ve come to warn you”, The Phoenix replied “You remember those robots that keep showing up?”

“It’s hard to forget them”, Reinette admitted.

“Well, in five years they are coming for you. I don’t know the precise date, all I know is that sometime after your 37th birthday they’ll be coming for you”, the Phoenix warned.

“So, in five years these creatures will return. What can be done?” Reinette asked.

“Keep them talking. The robots are programmed to respond to you now, but you might be able to delay them a bit”, the Phoenix replied “until I can get there”.

“I can do that”, the blonde confirmed “one may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel”, Reinette touched her cheek “and you my dearest Nix, are worth it” she lightly kissed her “see you in 5 years”.

“Until then, Reinette”, the Phoenix said and left the woman to her thoughts about what her future would bring.

~Versailles Palace: 5 years later~

“I have made my decision”, Reinette said turning to the robots “and my decision is ‘no’, I shall not be going with you today”. Her eyes flickered to the fireplace, hoping that the Phoenix wouldn’t let her down. Two robots come up on either side of Reinette and pushed her to her knees. They point their maiming instruments at her neck. The chief robot approaches her and also pointed his weapon at her. Reinette looked up at him. “You think I fear you, but I do not fear you even now. You are merely the nightmare of my childhood. The monster from under my bed. And if my nightmare can return to plague _me_ , then rest assured” Reinette lowered her voice to a whisper “so will yours”. 

Suddenly the mirror above the fireplace shattered into thousands of shards as the Phoenix burst through it, still in her Yew Tree gown. “Hello lovely lady”, she greeted and Reinette smiled softly “you look younger every day”.

“What the hell is going on?” Louis demanded.

“I’m keeping my promise “, the Phoenix replied, striding over to the chief robot and ripped off its mask. It responded by pointing its blade at her throat.

“Don’t bother, its over”, the Phoenix stated, waving her hand at where she’d come in. there was nothing but a brick wall there now. No more time window. “Talk about seven year’s bad luck. Try three thousand…”

Back on the ship Mickey and the Doctor looked at the smashed mirror in dismay. On the other hand, Rose was elated that the Time Lady was gone. “Doctor if its broken, how can Nix get back?” Mickey asked.

“She can’t”, the Time Lord whispered, his hearts as broken as the time window “she’s trapped”. Oh, how he wished he’d managed to stop her in time! Now he was the last of his kind, yet again. His biggest regret? Not having the courage to tell her that he _did_ actually love her. Not part of a plan to deter Rose or as a random blurting out from his mind as it spiralled out of control.

“Do you think she knew that she would be stuck when she broke the time window?” Mickey asked the Doctor.

The Time Lord nodded “I’m afraid she did know”, he answered “but she did it anyway to protect Reinette”.

“That’s our Nix”, Mickey said. He was going to miss her but he was proud to have been her companion and planned to do his upmost to continue being the best person that he could be, the person that the Phoenix had seen in him.

~Versailles Palace~

The robot repeatedly tried to use its teleport but to no avail. It turns to the Phoenix. “The link to the ship is broken, there’s no way back for either you or me” she stepped closer to the robot “you don’t have the parts so that makes me wonder how long you have. A day? An hour? Doesn’t matter. Its over, accept it”. The Time Lady as the clockwork gears in the robot wound down ever so slowly before they came to a stop. The other robots follow suit and slump forwards. One of them falls backwards causing the clockwork to smash all over the floor. The guests whisper among themselves as the Phoenix helped Reinette to her feet.

“You all right?” she asked her.

“I am now”, Reinette answered “So, what's happened to them?” she nodded at the robots.

“They've stopped. They have no purpose now”, the Phoenix replied.

\--------------

Later…

The Phoenix stood by the window, looking up at the stars, hand on her stomach. “Better get used to this place kiddo, its gonna be our home from now on”, she murmured. She glanced behind her when she heard someone approach. It was Reinette.

“You know all their names, don't you?” she asked, glass of wine in hand.

“Of course I do”, the Phoenix replied “I’d be happy to teach you them, if you like”, she offered.

“I’d like that”, Reinette said. The pair stood in silence for a moment until the blonde spoke again “I have often wished to see those stars a little closer. Just as you have and the Doctor have”.

“If I had my ship, I’d take you to see them in a heartsbeat”, the Phoenix said “but…unfortunately I don’t”.

“In saving me, you trapped yourself. Did you know that would happen?” Reinette asked.

“I did”, the Phoenix replied.

“Yet, still you came”, Reinette pointed out.

“I made you a promise Reinette, I wasn’t about to break it”, the Time Lady reminded her.

“There were many doors between my world and yours”, Reinette told them “Can you not use one of the others?”

“I’m afraid I can’t. When I broke the mirror, the shock would have severed all the links with the ship. There'll be a few more broken mirrors and torn tapestries around here, I'm afraid, wherever there was a time window”, she explained.

“So, you’re stuck here with me on the slow path”, Reinette stated.

“That not so bad. No one I’d rather be on the slow path with”, the Phoenix commented and the blonde smiled.

“Not even the Doctor or Jack?” Reinette lightly questioned and the Time Lady’s shoulders slumped sadly.

“I’ll miss them but it was the right thing to do”, the Phoenix said “I made you a promise and I wasn’t going to break it. Even if I hadn’t promised, I still would have come. There was no way I was leaving you to your fate”.

“That is partly why I love you”, Reinette confessed.

“You mean a lot to me too”, the Phoenix admitted “but we can’t go anything beyond a friendship, you’re the King’s mistress after all”.

“I don’t see why it can’t, at least before you go”, Reinette said and the Time Lady eyed her curiously.

“I don’t understand”, she said.

“Come on, I’ll show you”, Reinette set her wine glass down, took the Time Lady’s hand and led her out of the room. “It's not a copy, it's the original”, she explained as she entered her bedroom, showing the Phoenix the fireplace where she had appeared the very first time “I had it moved here and was exact in every detail”.

“When did you do this?” the brunette asked, slowly walking forward.

“Many years ago, in the hope that a door once opened, may someday open again. One never quite knows when one needs an angel” they smile at each other “It appears undamaged. Do you think it will still work?”

“You broke the bond with the ship when you moved it, which means it was offline when the mirror broke. That's what saved it. But the link is basically physical, and it's still physically here” she tapped the woodwork “which might just mean, if I'm lucky...if I'm very, very lucky…” the Phoenix grinned when she found the spot she was looking for. “Ah ha!”

“What?” Reinette asked, hoping that ‘ah ha’ was a good sign.

“It still works”, the Phoenix proclaimed and the blonde smiled “I can go” she turned to Reinette “but not yet” she cupped the 37 year old’s face “time to change a little history” kissed her, deeply.

Reinette closed her eyes and relaxed into the kiss. She knew this was wrong but it felt so right. While she did have the ambition to become the King’s mistress…and succeeded on that part, she didn’t quite feel the same connection to the monarch as she did with the Time Lady. It felt much, much deeper. “I’ll miss you”, she whispered when they eventually parted.

“Come with me then”, the Phoenix offered and Reinette stared at her “I’m serious. Come with me”.

“You mean that?” the blonde asked.

“Of course. Go pack a bag and then pick a star! Any star!” the Time Lady hit the section of the fireplace and it began to turn “you have two minutes!”

Reinette beamed and rushed to find a bag, hastily packing for her trip. While she was doing this, she was startled by the Time Lady coming back through the fireplace. “Well, that was quick”, she remarked, noting the fact that the Time Lady had a wardrobe change from the red dress to a long sleeved grey top and a pair of tan like trousers.

“Was it?” the Phoenix asked “I was a bit longer than two minutes”.

“No you weren’t”, Reinette said “you were less than that. Makes a change since I was the one waiting years while it was minutes for you”.

“Yeah, looks like our roles were reversed this time. Its been about two years for me”, the Phoenix told her.

“Oh”, Reinette said “was it a good couple of years?” she questioned continuing to pack, the brunette helping her.

“Wasn’t bad considering I was pregnant for nearly all of it”, the Phoenix replied. The blonde stopped what she was doing and gaped at her.

“Pregnancies for you last that long?” she asked, surprised.

“Yup”, the Time Lady confirmed “it wasn’t so bad once the morning sickness is out of the way. It helped to have an incredibly supportive and patient husband”.

“Oh you got married to Jack! Was it a nice wedding?” Reinette questioned.

“It was amazing. Best day of my life”, the Phoenix replied with smile “Now are you ready to go?”

“Indeed I am”, Reinette replied.

“Good”, the Phoenix took the blonde’s bag and they walked to the fireplace, stopping in front of it “ready?” she asked, holding out her free hand. Reinette took it and cast one last look around the room. “Don’t worry, I can show you all the wonders of the universe and still get you home in time for breakfast tomorrow”, the Phoenix assured her.

“How?” Reinette asked.

“My ship can travel through time”, the red head informed her and the blonde let out a laugh in delight. The pair stepped through the fireplace, hand in hand.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Untimely Deaths Of Simmons And Statten](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27208087) by [Maethoriel_Artemis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maethoriel_Artemis/pseuds/Maethoriel_Artemis), [Raven_Mortem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_Mortem/pseuds/Raven_Mortem)




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